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« Photo: Don't dump on the Pats | Today | House panel to air bills banning drivers from 'texting' » January 15, 2008Former URI development official dies in Mass. crashRobert Turcotte, who spearheaded the money-raising that built University of Rhode Island's Ryan Center, was struck and killed Sunday evening by a tractor-trailer on Route 128 in Massachusetts. Turcotte, 44, who grew up in Woonsocket and was living in Holliston, Mass., had pulled his 2003 Dodge Durango into the breakdown lane on Route 128 south in Weston, a Boston suburb, and got out, a state police news release said.  Photo courtesy of URI ROBERT TURCOTTE He was struck "while standing in the vicinity of the white fog line separating the breakdown lane and the right travel lane" by a tractor trailer driven by James Glovacki, 55, of Greenfield, Mass., according to the police. Police responded at about 5:50 p.m. Turcotte was declared dead at the scene. Glovacki was uninjured. Turcotte had been associate vice president for development at URI, leaving in 2000. After being hired in the late 1990s, Turcotte led a staff that brought in the large early donations for what would become the Ryan Center -- six- and seven-figure gifts -- in what ultimately became a $15 million campaign, the largest for a URI building and one that exceeded goals, said Paul Witham, associate vice president at URI. Events such as Rams men's basketball games -- a team that's made the Associated Press's top-25 polls for weeks running now -- had been held in the old Keaney Gymnasium. The Ryan Center, which opened in fall 2002, doubled capacity for fans and now plays host to entertainment events such as rock concerts. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Witham said Turcotte put in place procedures and protocols that were the foundation for the fund-raising that continued. In an interview today, Witham said he had talked with Turcotte about five weeks ago. Turcotte spoke of his wife, son and daughter. Witham remembered Turcotte saying his son was playing hockey, doing skills on the ice that Turcotte said he couldn't do when he was the same age, Witham recalled. And Turcotte spoke of his parents, who had moved to Cumberland. "I'm in shock," said Witham, who'd been out for a couple of days and was walking in this morning when he heard what had happened. "He was a very well-liked guy," Witham added, who was known to stay in touch with URI colleagues over the years. The crash is under investigation with help from State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. Posted by Mike McKinney CommentsSteve Micke | January 15, 2008 5:06 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
I was lucky enough to have met and workwith Bob Turcotte while he was fund raising for URI. He was a truly gifted fund raiser and a truly wonderful human being. He will be sorely missed by all of us who knew him.