About Peter Dzioba, victim of Seattle pedicab accident
This is an article about Peter Dzioba, the man killed in the Seattle pedicab accident. This tragedy has devastated his community and family.
Peter Dzioba, Jeff Uribe, and Julie Perry, are all victims of pedicab accidents that could have been avoided. Proper training, ensuring that best practices are followed, and ensuring that the equipment used is appropriately designed to meet the challenges of the local conditions would have prevented these tragedies and the pain caused to the victims and their families.
Article taken from http://www.rep-am.com/
Friends, co-workers sadden by death in rickshaw
WATERTOWN — David Demirs used to joke with Peter Dzioba about his white beard and hair, often calling him “Santa Claus.”
Dzioba was someone Demirs, a Democratic member of the Town Council, confided in and trusted with his concerns before he made tough political decisions. They knew each other from Democratic Town Committee meetings and had become friends while working together on the Public Building Committee.
“Any time I needed advice, I went to Peter,” Demirs said Friday, two days after Dzioba was killed in a freak accident in Seattle. “He was a dear friend of mine, an outstanding gentleman.”
Dzioba, 60, died while vacationing with his wife, Mary, 55, in Seattle on Wednesday, where they had traveled for their 25th wedding anniversary and planned to board a cruise ship to Alaska.
The two were riding in a rickshaw or pedicab, a two-seat cab pulled by a bicycle, when it ran through an intersection and hit a scooter. The Dziobas were thrown from the rickshaw along with the 23-year-old driver. Peter Dzioba landed in front of a Ford Aerostar, which ran him over.
A Seattle police spokesman said the accident is under investigation and that witnesses claim the rickshaw drove through a red light. Police are investigating whether the rickshaw experienced a mechanical failure.
“He drove down a rather steep grade,” said Jeff Kappel, a Seattle police spokesman. “It would be hard to stop.”
Mary Dzioba was taken to Harborview Medical Center in the city, where she was listed in satisfactory condition Friday.
One of Dziobas’ four children flew out to be with his mother on Thursday, but family members declined to comment for this story.
Dzioba worked for MacDermid Inc. on Freight Street in Waterbury as a chemical engineer for nearly 15 years. He wasn’t one to complain when a challenge presented itself, according to Rich Mazzamaro, one of Dzioba’s co-workers.
Mazzamaro described Dzioba as a family man who sometimes chatted about how he liked to help his sons with their cars.
“He was quiet but he worked tirelessly for us,” Mazzamaro said. “We were putting together this big project for a customer and he’d work 10 hours in a lab that was 100 degrees. He was the nicest man you could imagine.”
Bob Porter, chairman of the Public Building Committee in Watertown, had talked earlier this week with Dzioba about the vacation he planned with his wife.
He said that Dzioba was an asset to the committee.
and dedicated himself to several projects, including a fire station renovation and renovations at Swift Middle School.
“It’s very sad news for the entire community,” Porter said.
