One week ago today, 9-year-old Shawn Niethammer was in his fourth grade class at Vintage Hills Elementary School. Come Monday, his seat was noticeably empty.
The Pleasanton boy was hit by a car Oct. 6 as he rolled out of a driveway on his bicycle in the 700 block of Palomino Drive–just a few blocks from where he lived, police said. The driver of the Lincoln SUV, a 53-year-old man, was heading eastbound on Palomino, just east of Norton Way to visit a friend nearby.
It happened at 5:37 p.m. and as the collision threw the boy from his bicycle, he sustained injuries to his neck and spine that later proved to be fatal. He was wearing a safety helmet at the time.
The driver immediately stopped at the scene of the accident and has been fully cooperating with police, according to Sgt. Michael Collins.
No charges have been filed against the man and Collins said according to normal procedure, the case will eventually be forwarded to the county district attorney.
The vehicle was traveling at or slightly above the posted 25 mph speed limit, which isn’t uncommon because on average, 15 percent of motorists drive slightly above the posted speed limit, Collins said.
As of press time, the police department was withholding the driver’s name.
Collins said it’s been years since a tragic event like this has happened in Pleasanton, but cautioned that incidents like these could potentially happen at any time.
“Almost every parent has had a kid go darting into the street and but for the grace of God nothing has happened,” he said. “Unfortunately in this case, that’s not what happened. It appears to be a momentary lapse of judgement.”
The bright and fun-loving 9-year-old will be best remembered by his loved ones as someone who loved to play sports and who always had a smile on his face.
“He wanted to be friends with everybody,” said his father, Darrin Niethammer. “He had a laugh that was so contagious that it would make anyone laugh. He was my little buddy and my life.”
Niethammer said Shawn was riding his bicycle from his mother’s house to a friend’s house just a few blocks away. When he discovered the friend wasn’t home, he headed back out of the friend’s driveway where the accident occurred.
“That area seems to have a lot of school traffic for kids,” Niethammer said. “I would like to see some speed bumps in there because it doesn’t only stop speeding, but it makes people look too.”
Shawn’s stepfather Pat Simon said he will always cherish the times he used to take him to Callippe Preserve Golf Course to play golf or the times he would take him along on his handyman trips to people’s homes to make housecalls.
“He would do anything for anybody and would always put other people first and at 9, you wouldn’t think that,” said mother Veronica Simon.
She said she’s been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.
“So many people that we don’t even know have come over and offered their condolences and brought meals and you don’t know what a wonderful community you have unfortunately until something like this happens,” she said.
Ron Hyde, a close friend of Pat Simon’s has set up a bank account at the Bank of Walnut Creek at 249 Main St., titled “The Shawn Neithammer Memorial Fund for the Benefit of Youth Golf.” Donations will go towards benefiting youths in golf camps who would otherwise not be able to afford them. The 9-year-old participated in the youth golf program this past summer at Callippe.
At Shawn’s school, efforts are under way to memorialize him as well as help his family, according to Vintage Hills Principal Carolyn Parker.
Extra counselors were brought on campus to talk to students and parents about the incident. The students in Kasey Poet’s fourth grade class have already found ways to remember their classmate, Parker said.
Students are given a number that corresponds with where their name falls in alphabetical order and that number is used on homework and class assignments. Shawn’s number was 20, and students asked that they “retire” his number so as to never forget him.
The school has also set up a bank account for charitable donations at Fremont Bank, 6654 Koll Center Parkway, Ste. 345. Anyone who wants to make a donation can either go to the bank or drop off a donation at Vintage Hills. The account is titled “The Shawn Niethammer Memorial Fund.” The bank can be reached at 417-7671.
Some parents have also sent out e-mails to city officials and local businesses to solicit donations to help defray the funeral costs for the family.
To honor Shawn’s love of baseball, Vintage Hills will host a baseball drive in which students can bring in new or used baseball equipment that will be sent to an organization that will donate the supplies to needy Cambodian children.
“I think Shawn would be happy to know that there would be a lot of kids with this equipment that they can play baseball with,” Parker said.
The school plans to have a memorial sometime next month.
Shawn Michael-Harold Niethammer is survived by his mother Veronica and her husband Pat Simon, his father Darrin Niethammer and his wife Tina, grandmother Marilyn Niethammer, grandparents Michael and Dorothy Berthelsen, stepbrothers Kyle and Sean and stepsister Robin and by his uncles, aunts, cousins and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Woodard Niethammer.
A private viewing was scheduled for Wednesday for the family, according to Graham-Hitch Mortuary. A service will be held today at 4 p.m. at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1020 Mocho St. in Livermore.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggest memorial donations be made In care of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church to be used for children’s charities, to junior golf or the Pleasanton National Little League.
