Cantwell (Image: Facebook)
Friends and family will gather to remember Nap Cantwell Thursday afternoon at the Olympic Sculpture Park on what would have been his 19th birthday. CHS reported on Cantwell’s death last week following a May 29th incident in which police say Cantwell struck a van as he rode his bike downhill through the Pike and Boren intersection. The Seattle Time’s obituary paints a picture of Cantwell as a beer family’s son starting to make his way in the world:
Cantwell started working at his dad’s brewery in January. He considered it, his mother said, something of a legacy to get into the beer business. He often rode his bike to work or to the bus stop, from his mom’s or dad’s house.
As heartbreaking as it was to lose him, Ishikawa said, it would have been even sadder a year ago, before he’d had a chance to come into his own, before his identity began to blossom.
Police are investigating the collision. Cantwell never regained consciousness after the accident, and as days passed, results of medical tests grew increasingly grim.
Said his father: “We really didn’t hold out much hope for — I mean we did. ‘Til the very end, you hope he’s going to open his eyes and be himself, but that just wasn’t in the cards.”
The sculpture park gathering will be followed by a reception at the Capitol Hill Elysian, the Times reports. The family has asked that donations be made in Nap Cantwell’s name to BikeWorks.
Police say the investigation into the crash could take several months. In the meantime, a “Ghost Bike” to be placed at the intersection to mark the spot where Cantwell died is reportedly in the works.
UPDATE: A Ghost Bike remembrance — and a birthday bouquet — appeared at Pike and Boren Thursday night.
(Image: Seattle Bike Blog shared by permission with CHS)
Uugh. So phuking sad.
May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort.
http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?ac
Didnt this kid run a red light?
“Police are investigating the collision.”
to the person who said “Huh? didnt (sic) this kid run a red light?” I would reply: I have no idea. If he didn’t, thank you for your irrelevant comment. If he did: the statements that preceded yours were to the effect of “so sad” and “may his family find comfort.” If you don’t think the death of an 18-year-old after a mistake is tragic, or you don’t wish his family comfort after such a mistake, I’m not sure we have anything to talk about. And again, it is far from clear here that any such a mistake was made. Thank you for your callous comment.
Thank you AnyPerson, beautifully put.
Russ: A young man not wearing a helmet and running a red light is a naive mistake — a demonstration of that sense of immortality we all identify as the hubris of youth, and which many of us look back on, grateful that we survived. It is not a capital offense. It is not a life sentence of grief and loss for a family.
I am so very sad for this loss–for the entire community.
If you want to talk about lessons learned, at least give friends and family some time and space for grief and remembrance. And then perhaps become a BikeWorks volunteer. It’s so much more useful than pointing out mistakes.
The bikes & flowers are a lovely tribute, but the RIP grafitti on the nearby building (across from Tango) – not so much. I completely appreciate the sentiment and I feel terrible that this happened but there are better ways to memorialize this tragedy than tagging the side of a building. I’m hoping maybe it was just chalk and will wash off.
In any case, my deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
I knew Nap and we went to Elementary school together! I also played baseball against and with him and he was full of energy and enthusiasm! I wish I could have seen him before this happened. I hope he’s doing well where ever he is now.