[Charlotte Observer — 10.18.2005]
Fatal collision shakes community
Avid cyclist put his kids first, family says
MELISSA MANWARE and LENA WARMACK
Todd Weaver was on his way home.
About twice a week, the computer tech rode his bike 24 miles from his home in Concord to his job near the Charlotte Coliseum.
Weaver, a father of two young children and an avid cyclist, collided with a CATS bus on South Tryon Street near Clanton Road on Friday. He was thrown about 20 feet and died where he landed.
His death has shaken the Charlotte area's cycling community and his family, who want people to know that Weaver enjoyed riding a bike but was also a devoted dad who put his two children first.
"Ninety percent of our time was for the children," said Pam Weaver, his wife of 13 years. "That's what he loved. There was no other priority in his life."
Their children, 10-year-old Brady and 7-year-old Elizabeth, are involved in youth football and cheerleading, and the family spent most evenings at those events.
He started cycling two years ago after a co-worker introduced him to the sport. He did it to stay in shape and save money on gas, his wife said.
"For Todd, it was just a hobby. It was just a fun thing to do," Pam Weaver said. "Todd was the kind who loved to get outdoors."
Brooks Gibson met Weaver earlier this year, when Weaver decided he wanted to start biking to work. The two would meet at Lowes Motor Speedway and ride together to uptown Charlotte -- then back at the end of the day.
"He became kind of a bicycling evangelist," said Gibson, a veteran cyclist who recently moved from Kannapolis to Western North Carolina. He'd just invited Weaver to the mountains for a ride.
Just before 5 p.m. Friday, a Charlotte Area Transit System bus taking a left into the South Tryon Street station collided with Weaver, who was riding north on South Tryon.
The driver, Jerry Lee Miller, had been in a minor wreck 30 minutes earlier and was taking his bus back to the station. He is on administrative leave while the wreck is investigated, CATS spokeswoman Jean Leier said.
After the wreck, Miller was tested for drugs, which is standard procedure. On Monday, Leier said the results of the test were not back yet.
A district attorney will decide whether charges are appropriate.
David Huneycutt, who also rode with Weaver, said his death won't slow down Charlotte's cyclists but it's a scary reminder about the dangers of the sport.
"You are always aware, but when things like this happen it makes you kind of skittish," he said.
Pam and Todd Weaver met as freshmen at Campbell University in Buies Creek and later moved to Concord in 1995.
"I feel like he's right here telling me to be strong," she said, fighting back tears. "I'm sure this is a long process to go through."
She said they talked about buying a tandem bicycle next year so they could cycle together.
He grew up in Richmond, Va., and went to Manchester High School, where he was the school mascot. His costume included a basketball worn over his head.
"He was a very selfless man," brother Mark Weaver said. Mark Weaver said some cyclists are planning to hold a cycling event to remember his brother. Details haven't been worked out.
From: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/12929527.htm (Requires registration)
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Todd was a good friend to me. We joked and laughed
a lot about silly things. But when things were not
going well for either of us, he would always have a
bright outlook and say something or do something that
would make me laugh. I can recall so many of the
good times we had. Those times will never be
erased from my memory.
