Golf tournament raises $2,500 in memory of San Rafael woman
By Jessica Bernstein-Wax
October 22, 2010
Originally posted on
Marin Independent Journal
A golf tournament and dinner benefiting a fund for a former San Rafael woman killed riding her bicycle in Cleveland last year raised about $2,500, organizers say.
The scramble tournament and dinner benefiting the Sylvia Bingham Fund occurred last Saturday at the Peacock Gap Country Club & Spa and attracted 32 golfers and about eight more people for dinner, organizer and golf pro Paul Rojas said.
"Everybody had a great time," said Rojas, who knew Bingham and her father through a local hockey group. "I put my own money into it, so I went out and bought drinks for everybody. It was a beautiful day outside."
Bingham, 22, was struck and killed by a 2005 Peterbilt Straight truck on Sept. 15, 2009, as she rode her bicycle to work in Cleveland. The 2005 Terra Linda High School graduate had recently earned a degree from Yale University and was working for social justice organization Hard Hatted Women in Cleveland at the time of her death.
Truck driver Herschel Roberts, a 61-year-old Cleveland resident, was arrested near the scene of the accident and tested positive for marijuana, said Ryan Miday, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
A grand jury indicted him on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to stop after an accident and driving while under the influence, Miday said.
On Sept. 13, Roberts pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of eight years in Ohio. He was scheduled to appear before a judge on Oct. 25 for sentencing but withdrew his guilty plea on Oct. 8 and changed defense attorneys, Miday said. Roberts is now facing a maximum sentence of 13.5 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Roberts' new defense attorney, Anthony Vegh, could not be reached for comment Friday.
Steve Bingham, Sylvia's father, said the family is disappointed that Roberts withdrew his guilty plea.
"It's very, very discouraging to us," he said. "We sincerely felt that he had true remorse."
He added that Sylvia's death has been devastating not only for her family but also her friends. On Oct. 1, Sylvia's boyfriend, Alex Nosse, and former housemate, Emelio Disabato, finished a 59-day, 3,600-mile bicycle trip from Cleveland to San Francisco.
The trip was "partly in honor of Sylvia and also for both of them partly therapy to help them deal with the grief they had been dealing with," Steve Bingham said.
The money raised at last week's tournament will go to the Sylvia Bingham Fund, with the Massachusetts-based Peace Development Fund handling donations and deciding which charities to fund in consultation with the Bingham family.
The family plans to suggest donations to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Terra Linda High School and organizations that promote healthy eating habits, particularly among children, Steve Bingham said.
"Sylvia was very, very much into good, healthy food," her father said. "To her, the good life was having time to spend with friends around the dinner table."
Golf Tournament Photo Gallery
