Teo Peter

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Teofil Peter (April 11, 1954 - December 3, 2004) was a Romanian rock musician and bass player for Compact.

Peter was born in Cluj-Napoca^[1], in Transylvania, in 1954. He was considered by some to be the Bruce Springsteen of Romania. Compact was formed in Cluj-Napoca in 1977. Teo Peter had a brother, Dorian^[2], and a son, Teo Peter Jr.

[edit] Death

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

Van Goethem's blood alcohol content was estimated at 0.09 from a breathalyser test, but he refused to give a blood sample for further testing and left for Germany^[5] before charges could be filed in Romania. The Romanian government requested the American government lift his diplomatic immunity^[6], 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.

Peter's death and Van Goethem's court martial were very controversial and led to protests from Romanians^[7] in the United States.

In 2005, the U.S. Embassy announced the establishment of a memorial commemorating the life and work of Teo Peter^[8]. 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.

[edit] References

Persondata
NAME	Peter, Teofil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Peter, Teo
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Romanian musician
DATE OF BIRTH	April 11, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
DATE OF DEATH	[December 3]], 2004
PLACE OF DEATH	Bucharest, Romania