Edward Coil
Edward Coil
Friday, October 19, 2007
Age: 58
Location:
Court and Washington Streets
Ithaca , NY
United States
Eddie Coil, a 58 year old disabled adult, was well known on the streets of Ithaca, riding his adult tricycle everywhere he went.
On the afternoon of October 19th, he was stopped at the intersection of Washington and Court streets waiting to cross the street. A Fed Ex truck driven by Douglas S. Knowlton collided with a Jeep driven by Danielle L. Hilker, who is reported to have been talking on a cell phone. The Fed Ex truck rolled over onto Eddie, killing him instantly.
Knowlton was cited for failing to yield the right of way to Hilker but not in Eddie's death.
News of his death spread fast through Ithaca and a ghost bike was installed in his memory.
According to this article:
Edward Coil, known as “Eddie,” died in an automobile accident, in which he was a bystander on the street. He was killed immediately after one vehicle caused another to roll on top of him. Eddie, a disabled man, worked hard and with industry at his many jobs. I met Eddie only a few times, when he worked at the former KFC in town. Always friendly, he would strike up conversation, talk about his life and occupations — and did so with a friendliness and mutuality often missing from other encounters that many of us have from day to day.
He took pride in the work he did, whether it was keeping the dining area clean at KFC or, more recently, washing dishes at the local Holiday Inn. He combined self-reliance with an interdependence on others that the disability rights movement has taught us is an important part of the human condition — the message that none of us, to quote John Donne, is “an island,” nor should we want to be.
Eddie also continued studying and learning all of his life, determined to improve his skills as a reader as long as he was able — at an age long after most of us have left school for the last time.
I make no claims that I knew Eddie beyond the few brief encounters I had with him, but I do know how quickly the news of his death spread and rapidly noted everywhere from McDonald’s to postings on Craigslist. I do not wish to sentimentalize him to the point of hagiography.
No doubt, like all of us, Eddie had his moments of sadness, frustration and anger — but that Eddie was like “all of us” is exactly the point. What is not doubted is that his life, both for Eddie and for those who met him, was one that was filled with meaning, one filled with value.
In a wrongful death suit against Knowlton, of Ithaca, he pled not guilty to driving his FedEx truck through a stop sign just prior to the collision. (according to the Ithaca Journal June 12, 2008)
Friday, October 19, 2007
Age: 58
Location:
Court and Washington Streets
Ithaca , NY
United States
Eddie Coil, a 58 year old disabled adult, was well known on the streets of Ithaca, riding his adult tricycle everywhere he went.
On the afternoon of October 19th, he was stopped at the intersection of Washington and Court streets waiting to cross the street. A Fed Ex truck driven by Douglas S. Knowlton collided with a Jeep driven by Danielle L. Hilker, who is reported to have been talking on a cell phone. The Fed Ex truck rolled over onto Eddie, killing him instantly.
Knowlton was cited for failing to yield the right of way to Hilker but not in Eddie's death.
News of his death spread fast through Ithaca and a ghost bike was installed in his memory.
According to this article:
Edward Coil, known as “Eddie,” died in an automobile accident, in which he was a bystander on the street. He was killed immediately after one vehicle caused another to roll on top of him. Eddie, a disabled man, worked hard and with industry at his many jobs. I met Eddie only a few times, when he worked at the former KFC in town. Always friendly, he would strike up conversation, talk about his life and occupations — and did so with a friendliness and mutuality often missing from other encounters that many of us have from day to day.
He took pride in the work he did, whether it was keeping the dining area clean at KFC or, more recently, washing dishes at the local Holiday Inn. He combined self-reliance with an interdependence on others that the disability rights movement has taught us is an important part of the human condition — the message that none of us, to quote John Donne, is “an island,” nor should we want to be.
Eddie also continued studying and learning all of his life, determined to improve his skills as a reader as long as he was able — at an age long after most of us have left school for the last time.
I make no claims that I knew Eddie beyond the few brief encounters I had with him, but I do know how quickly the news of his death spread and rapidly noted everywhere from McDonald’s to postings on Craigslist. I do not wish to sentimentalize him to the point of hagiography.
No doubt, like all of us, Eddie had his moments of sadness, frustration and anger — but that Eddie was like “all of us” is exactly the point. What is not doubted is that his life, both for Eddie and for those who met him, was one that was filled with meaning, one filled with value.
In a wrongful death suit against Knowlton, of Ithaca, he pled not guilty to driving his FedEx truck through a stop sign just prior to the collision. (according to the Ithaca Journal June 12, 2008)