I just found out that member FredB (Fred Bothelo) passed away on Friday night. He was involved in a car crash on I95 (I don't have all the details yet). I'd known Fred for over 10 years (since college). He was a good guy; we had lots of good times together. He will be missed. :(

WHOA! Please keep me informed... if this is true, it is truely a sad sad day :(

WHOA! Please keep me informed... if this is true, it is truely a sad sad day :(
I really hope this isn't true. Please keep us updated.

Yup... Fred is no longer with us. There is a viewing tonight in Boca (4/17/06)). That is all I was able to find out. It truely is a sad sad day. :(

RIP Fred.. we'll miss you.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/email/news/breaking_news/14346397.htm

Architect killed in this morning's fatal accident
By JASMINE KRIPALANI
jkripalani@MiamiHerald.com
A 35-year-old man driving a 2004 BMW M3 died Friday in an accident west of Alton Road and 195, more commonly known as the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

According to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo, the incident that took place at 12:45 a.m. cost the driver, Fredrick S. Botelho his life and left the passenger Kevin A. McMorris, 32, in critical condition.

The accident began when Botelho switched from the right outside lane to the center lane. That's when Botelho lost control of the vehicle and kept rotating counterclockwise until it overturned.

Matthew Mehler, 29, driving a Ducati motorcycle, swerved to avoid the accident and ended being ejected from his motorcycle. Mehler, who also sustained critical injuries, landed on the unpaved shoulder of the westbound lane.

Debris from the accident struck another driver, Shannon D. Bicknell, 25, She was driving a Volkswagen Jetta. Bicknell suffered no injuries.

The westbound lanes of the Julia Tuttle Causeway were shut down for nearly six hours early this morning.

i never had the pleasure to meet him but may he rest in peace.

this is really sad news to me bc this past friday i lost my grandfather and the week before my ex-girlfriend lost a good friend of hers, he was a part of the Neon SR-T community, at the age of 18 to a car accident in UCF. he was test driving a costumers/friends car when they wrapped it around a tree. then her best friend lost her grandmother.

may all these souls rest in peace. let us celebrate their lives, bc that is what theyd want us to do.

Damn... Tragic news. I hope we get to find out what truely caused this accident. The Fred I knew was a great driver and the article just doesn't seem to add up to me if it was a simple lane change.

Here is the info for the funeral on Tuesday:

BOTELHO, FREDERICK S., 35, of Miami, FL passed away suddenly on April 14, 2006. Fred is survived by his loving parents, Nelson and Cecilia; adoring brother, Alex; maternal grandparents, John and Maria Farias; and his beloved girlfriend, Marianela Gomez. Fred also leaves 5 aunts, 4 uncles and several cousins to cherish his memory. He graduated from Florida A&M with a Master's degree in 1995. Fred was an accomplished, dedicated, talented and successful architect with Oppenheim Architecture. He was loved greatly by his family and friends; and will be missed by all who knew him. Visiting hours will be held on Monday, April 17, 2006 at Babione Funeral Home (west chapel) from 2-4 & 6-8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 10300 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, FL. Entombment will follow at Boca Raton Mausoleum. Arrangements entrusted to Babione Funeral Home. To visit this Guest Book Online, go to www.herald.com/obituaries.
Published in The Miami Herald on 4/16/2006.

Thanks Nick

Such a reality shock. Fred was a nice guy. I knew him personally :(

:( Guy never complained about anythign either. Man, thats rough.

my post from m3forums for members that dont visti that board:

we were just chatting about how awesome fred is last monday at the delray meet.

Here is my take on stuff like this: (i hope it doesnt offend anyone)
Many times, a tragedy causes people to make the victim into a saint for whatever reason. For example, if someone dies that is know for being a jerk, the negativity isnt really shown in a thread about his passing. Rather, some good things are mentioned and the ones that feel negative about the person either refrain from posting or post the typical "RIP."

This is NOT the case with fred. Fred was a genuine class act. He went above and beyond in all aspects of his social life in terms of personal relationships. I have only met fred a handful of times over the past year to year-and-a-half and will not pretend to have "known" him as well as some other people do, but he made me feel like we were good friends. I have nothing but fond memories of our friend that has prematurely passed.

I once asked him a basic three line question over PM regarding an architecture concern and wondered if he could help me out. I expected a breif, but friendly reply. What did I get? A full two page response offering to put me in touch with certain people, giving me addresses, contact numbers, quotes/estmates, etc. Clearly stuff that took time for him to collect and put together for me. NONE of this was to any of his benefit, which showed his compassion and his willingness to help out others. He had a huge heart and never spoke a negative word about anyone. He was always complimentary about everyone and everything. He was the person taht I searched for and like to be around when going to the local meets. For the brief meetings that I've had with him, I only regret one thing: That i didnt make more of an effort to spend more time around him (regardless of BMW meets).

Fred had such a great attitude, something that i have sometimes, but wish i could have all of the time. I didnt go to a lot of the south florida meets because i wanted to avoid certain people, but i really regret that now. All that nonsense is really petty in the grand scheme of things and its unfortunate that it takes something like this to make you realize that. My condolences to his loved ones. Fred, I will miss you.

-jon

Damn... Tragic news. I hope we get to find out what truely caused this accident. The Fred I knew was a great driver and the article just doesn't seem to add up to me if it was a simple lane change.


btw, the article disgusts me. Although i dont know what happened in this particukar scenario, I do know that at every meet, he was one of the most responsible and cautious drivers. He never really pushed his car or did anything that endangered anyone's safety. I'm putting my money on the bike having something to do with it... oh and btw, a car like his doesnt just "flip." He had to have clipped something or hit an uneven pavement change.

I wish i could have known him better. My condolences to you too, nick. I know youve known him longer than most of us.