MEMORIAL FUND SET UP FOR VICTIMS OF CRASH
By Josh Wein
Staff Writer
San Francisco Examiner, CA
Oct 17 2005
Friends of Zareh Soghikian, the Yellow Cab driver killed in a gruesome
suspected DUI collision Oct. 9, have set up a memorial fund to honor
his life and the life of Tyler Brown, the 21-year-old Duke University
student who was riding in the front passenger seat and also killed
in the accident.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has charged Kevin
McGuinness, a 43-year-old Irish citizen, with two counts of
second-degree murder for his role in the crime. McGuinness allegedly
ran a stop sign at the corner of Broadway and Webster streets,
broadsiding Soghikian’s taxi.
Two passengers, Tyler’s brother Adrian and his friend Michael Giedgowd
were also injured in the collision. Authorities said McGuinness was
driving down Broadway Street at 80 miles per hour with a blood-alcohol
level twice the legal limit. McGuinness allegedly fled the scene of
a hit-and-run near Polk and Washington streets just moments before
the fatal crash. He is being held without bail in San Francisco’s
jail and is scheduled to enter a plea on Oct. 27.
About 50 cabbies attended a candlelight vigil to honor Soghikian and
Brown on Friday night, said Ruach Graffis, an executive member of the
United Cab Workers’ Union. Funeral services were held Saturday for
Soghikian at a local Armenian Church. Brown was also buried Saturday
in Rhode Island.
The Zareh Soghikian and Tyler Brown Memorial Fund will benefit two
charities Brown and Soghikian were already involved with, Graffis
said. Soghikian had been quietly sending money to an Armenian family
who lost their home in a recent earthquake. They will receive part
of the money raised by the fund.
Brown had recently returned from a trip to Indonesia helping a village
recover from December’s tsunami and another part of the fund will
benefit charities in Banda Aceh.
To contribute, send a check made out to the Zareh Soghikian and Tyler
Brown Memorial Fund, to the Mission Area Federal Credit Union at 2940
16th St., San Francisco, CA 94110.