Teofil Nelu Peter (11 April 1954 – 4 December 2004) was a Romanian rock musician and bass player for Compact.

Peter was born in Cluj-Napoca,^[1] in Romania, in 1954. Compact was formed in Cluj-Napoca in 1977. Teo Peter had a brother, Dorin,^[2] and a son, Teo Peter Jr.

Death

Peter was killed in a traffic collision at 04:30 on 4 December 2004 when 31-year-old U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant Christopher Van Goethem serving as a Marine Security Guard at the U.S. embassy in Bucharest,^[3] while driving his Ford Expedition, collided with a taxi carrying Peter. Van Goethem did not obey a traffic signal to stop, which resulted in the collision. Peter was buried on 7 December in Mănăştur Cemetery, in his native Cluj-Napoca.^[4]

Although Van Goethem had admitted to drinking about three and a half beers over the course of the evening, tests of his blood returned negative for both alcohol and drugs,^[5] and he fled to Germany^[6] before charges could be filed in Romania. The Romanian government requested the American government lift his diplomatic immunity,^[7] which it has refused to do. The Marine was later cleared by a court martial of both manslaughter and adultery while convicted for obstruction of justice and making false statements.^[5]

Peter's death and Van Goethem's court martial were very controversial and led to protests from Romanians^[8] in the United States.

In 2005, the U.S. Embassy announced the establishment of a memorial commemorating the life and work of Teo Peter.^[9] The memorial is an annual professional visit program awarded to a distinguished Romanian cultural figure whose work addresses young people or helps to advance the careers of new artists and performers.

See also

• Yangju highway incident
• Death of Harry Dunn
• 1998 Cavalese cable car crash

References