Seth Vidal
Seth Vidal
Monday, July 8, 2013
Age: 36
Location:
Hillandale Road near I-85
Durham , VA
United States
From the News Observer
DURHAM — Neighbors and friends
are mourning the death of Seth Vidal, a well-known member of Durham’s
cycling community who was killed by a hit-and-run driver Monday night.
“He
was a very kind, thoughtful guy and always believed in people doing the
right thing,” said Meredith Emmett, a friend and neighbor in the Watts
Hospital-Hillandale neighborhood where Vidal lived with his partner,
Eunice Chang.
Durham police have charged Maceo Christopher Kemp
Jr., 27, with felony hit and run and driving with his license revoked.
Kemp turned himself in Tuesday afternoon.
Word of Vidal’s death spread rapidly through the neighborhood, cycling and other email lists and online sites.
“We
lived next to Seth for three years,” neighbor Trish Christie wrote. “He
was smart, personable, and caring. My husband talked to him last night.
We will miss his smiles and waves as he walked his dog. We are
heartbroken.”
According to police, the accident occurred at 8:57
p.m. Monday in the 1700 block of Hillandale Road, immediately south of
Interstate 85. Vidal was riding a bicycle north when he was struck from
behind by a northbound vehicle that did not stop.
Vidal, 36, was
pronounced dead at Duke Hospital. Witnesses reported seeing a dark,
possibly burgundy, late ’90s- or early 2000s-model sedan brake suddenly
and swerve before continuing north on Hillandale Road.
“I’m sure
Seth was taking all the right precautions,” wrote Jack Edinger, who said
he had known Vidal for about 10 years. “He was idealistic and
headstrong, and he knew his rights on the road. Now his young life was
snuffed out by a coward hit-and-run killer – disgusting.”
The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.
“A very sad day for cycling and for my neighborhood,” said City Councilman Don Moffitt, who lives in Watts Hospital-Hillandale.
Several posts said speeding is common on Hillandale Road.
“Does it take such a tragedy to wake us up?” wrote neighbor Arturo Ciompi. “We must remedy this.”
Coincidentally,
the city recently commissioned a study on improving the section of
Hillandale Road where Vidal died for bicycle and pedestrian use. The
first public meeting on the study was held in April, said
Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator Dale McKeel, who knew Vidal.
Vidal
was a 1998 political science graduate of Emory & Henry University in
Emory, Va. He came to Durham in 1999 as a computer system administrator
at Duke University, where he won a Meritorious Service Award in 2005.
Vidal left Duke in 2007 to become a senior software engineer with Red
Hat.
Red Hat spokeswoman Emily Stancil Martinez said she could
not confirm whether Vidal was still working for the company when he
died. Red Hat was withholding any comment “out of respect for Seth’s
family,” she said.
“What a terrible crime that he is no longer
with us,” wrote Mike Shiflett, who re-posted one of Vidal’s last
contributions to the neighborhood listserv. It had to do with fireflies:
“Yay for charming insects!”
“Seth was one in a million,” said neighbor Galia Goodman, “and the neighborhood will not be the same ever again with his death.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/09/3020243/durham-mourns-cyclist-kil...
from the DurhamNews
Durham's first "Ghost Bike" is chained to a speed limit sign on
Hillandale Road where Seth Vidal, an avid cyclist and software
developer, died after being hit by a car Monday July 8, 2013. Police
have charged Maceo Christopher Kemp Jr., 27, of Manson, N.C., with
felony hit and run and driving with his license revoked. Kemp turned
himself in Tuesday afternoon. Ghost bikes are memorials placed at a
site where cyclists have been killed as a reminder to drivers passing
the site to be careful and mindful of bicycles. CHUCK LIDDY — cliddy@newsobserver.com
A “ghost bike” was installed on Hillandale Road in memory of
avid cyclist Seth Vidal, who was laid to rest Saturday after he was
killed by a hit-and-run driver.
The roadside memorial is believed
to be Durham’s first ghost bike, which are painted white as a reminder
for motorists to share the road. Vidal, 36, was struck from behind on
Hillandale Road by a car that did not stop. Maceo Christopher Kemp Jr.,
27, has been charged with felony hit and run and driving with his
license revoked.
Fellow cyclists turned out in droves for Vidal’s
funeral Saturday, and a memorial bike ride was scheduled to start at 10
a.m. Sunday at Seven Stars Cycles, 309 E. Chapel Hill St. in Durham.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Age: 36
Location:
Hillandale Road near I-85
Durham , VA
United States
From the News Observer
DURHAM — Neighbors and friends
are mourning the death of Seth Vidal, a well-known member of Durham’s
cycling community who was killed by a hit-and-run driver Monday night.
“He
was a very kind, thoughtful guy and always believed in people doing the
right thing,” said Meredith Emmett, a friend and neighbor in the Watts
Hospital-Hillandale neighborhood where Vidal lived with his partner,
Eunice Chang.
Durham police have charged Maceo Christopher Kemp
Jr., 27, with felony hit and run and driving with his license revoked.
Kemp turned himself in Tuesday afternoon.
Word of Vidal’s death spread rapidly through the neighborhood, cycling and other email lists and online sites.
“We
lived next to Seth for three years,” neighbor Trish Christie wrote. “He
was smart, personable, and caring. My husband talked to him last night.
We will miss his smiles and waves as he walked his dog. We are
heartbroken.”
According to police, the accident occurred at 8:57
p.m. Monday in the 1700 block of Hillandale Road, immediately south of
Interstate 85. Vidal was riding a bicycle north when he was struck from
behind by a northbound vehicle that did not stop.
Vidal, 36, was
pronounced dead at Duke Hospital. Witnesses reported seeing a dark,
possibly burgundy, late ’90s- or early 2000s-model sedan brake suddenly
and swerve before continuing north on Hillandale Road.
“I’m sure
Seth was taking all the right precautions,” wrote Jack Edinger, who said
he had known Vidal for about 10 years. “He was idealistic and
headstrong, and he knew his rights on the road. Now his young life was
snuffed out by a coward hit-and-run killer – disgusting.”
The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.
“A very sad day for cycling and for my neighborhood,” said City Councilman Don Moffitt, who lives in Watts Hospital-Hillandale.
Several posts said speeding is common on Hillandale Road.
“Does it take such a tragedy to wake us up?” wrote neighbor Arturo Ciompi. “We must remedy this.”
Coincidentally,
the city recently commissioned a study on improving the section of
Hillandale Road where Vidal died for bicycle and pedestrian use. The
first public meeting on the study was held in April, said
Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator Dale McKeel, who knew Vidal.
Vidal
was a 1998 political science graduate of Emory & Henry University in
Emory, Va. He came to Durham in 1999 as a computer system administrator
at Duke University, where he won a Meritorious Service Award in 2005.
Vidal left Duke in 2007 to become a senior software engineer with Red
Hat.
Red Hat spokeswoman Emily Stancil Martinez said she could
not confirm whether Vidal was still working for the company when he
died. Red Hat was withholding any comment “out of respect for Seth’s
family,” she said.
“What a terrible crime that he is no longer
with us,” wrote Mike Shiflett, who re-posted one of Vidal’s last
contributions to the neighborhood listserv. It had to do with fireflies:
“Yay for charming insects!”
“Seth was one in a million,” said neighbor Galia Goodman, “and the neighborhood will not be the same ever again with his death.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/09/3020243/durham-mourns-cyclist-kil...
from the DurhamNews
Durham's first "Ghost Bike" is chained to a speed limit sign on
Hillandale Road where Seth Vidal, an avid cyclist and software
developer, died after being hit by a car Monday July 8, 2013. Police
have charged Maceo Christopher Kemp Jr., 27, of Manson, N.C., with
felony hit and run and driving with his license revoked. Kemp turned
himself in Tuesday afternoon. Ghost bikes are memorials placed at a
site where cyclists have been killed as a reminder to drivers passing
the site to be careful and mindful of bicycles. CHUCK LIDDY — cliddy@newsobserver.com
A “ghost bike” was installed on Hillandale Road in memory of
avid cyclist Seth Vidal, who was laid to rest Saturday after he was
killed by a hit-and-run driver.
The roadside memorial is believed
to be Durham’s first ghost bike, which are painted white as a reminder
for motorists to share the road. Vidal, 36, was struck from behind on
Hillandale Road by a car that did not stop. Maceo Christopher Kemp Jr.,
27, has been charged with felony hit and run and driving with his
license revoked.
Fellow cyclists turned out in droves for Vidal’s
funeral Saturday, and a memorial bike ride was scheduled to start at 10
a.m. Sunday at Seven Stars Cycles, 309 E. Chapel Hill St. in Durham.