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4 months ago
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A 24-year-old man involved in a tragic tubing accident which killed a young woman took his own life on the day of her funeral, DailyMail.com has learned.
Tony Dindia was allegedly driving the vessel towing Kaileigh Seidel, 24, on Willamette River in Oregon on June 22 when they slammed into another boat.
Seidel, from Vancouver, Washington, died from the impact around 8pm and her family had been calling for manslaughter charges to be brought against Dindia.
But a second tragedy struck before any legal action could be brought. Officers were called to Dindia's Sandy, Oregon, home to find that he had died on July 14 - the day of Seidel's funeral.
Seidel's relatives and Dindia's friends confirmed he had taken his own life.
'It's very sad,' Seidel's aunt, Rachelle Hunsperger told DailyMail.com. 'Not the kind of justice we were hoping for. Now his family has to go through what we are going through.'
Tony Dindia, 24, has taken his own life after he was involved in a tubing accident on June 22
Tony Dindia was allegedly driving the vessel towing Kaileigh Seidel (pictured) on Willamette River in Oregon on June 22 when they slammed into another boat and she died
Seidel's friend, Millie Lovea, who was on board the boat and witnessed the crash, remembered her as someone who left 'a mark on the hearts of others'. (Pictured: Lovea and Seidel together just three hours before the fatal accident)
Dindia's friend, Chase Tiffany, remembered him as 'an amazing man who was outgoing and adventurous'.
'Tony was a great person to the bone, I looked up to him and his accomplishments,' Tiffany told DailyMail.com.
'Tony will be very missed by everyone that had the honor to know him.'
Meanwhile, Seidel's family released hundreds of pink balloons in her memory on July 14 outside Reign Church in her hometown.
They were oblivious to the fact that Dindia had also died just hours earlier.
Seidel's devastated friend, Millie Lovea, who was on board the boat and witnessed the horrific crash, shared videos of the gathering on Facebook and remembered her as someone who left 'a mark on the hearts of others'.
'Her love for adventure and her zest for life were truly inspiring and that's what we were doing until the very last moment on that boat,' Lovea wrote.
'Kaileigh approached every challenge with courage and grace, always finding the silver lining in even the darkest of times.
'Her strength and resilience were a testament to her character, and she never wavered in her dedication to those she cared about.'
Dindia's death came after calls for an investigation into what happened on June 22.
Dindia was driving the vessel towing Kaileigh Seidel (pictured) on the Willamette River in Oregon June 22 when they veered off and she slammed into another boat
Seidel, from Vancouver, Washington, died from the impact around 8pm, police said, and her family had been calling for manslaughter charges to be brought against the driver
Seidel's family released pink balloons in her memory outside Reign Church in Vancouver, Washington, on July 14. Dindia took his own life the same day
The fatal accident also came just weeks before TV chef Naomi Pomeroy, 50, died while tubing with her husband and friend in the same river.
Benton County Sheriff's Office confirmed Pomeroy's body was recovered from the water close to Corvallis around 8.25pm Saturday.
Seidel's friend Lovea described what happened on June 22 in the immediate aftermath, saying the driver took a turn too quickly.
She claimed Seidel was pleading with Dindia to slow down and drive less erratically, but he didn't hear.
'My beautiful best friend and I had just gotten out on the water, having what seemed like a fun time, when everything changed in an instant,' she said.
'Seeing my friend hurt and feeling helpless is something I can't shake. Making the call to her family was even worse.
'I'm overwhelmed with guilt and sadness, wondering why things happened the way they did.
'I keep replaying the events in my mind, questioning what I could have done differently or better to save her.
'Survivor's guilt is real, and it's something I'm gonna carry every single day.'
Officers were called to Dindia's Sandy, Oregon, home to find that he had died on July 14 - the day of Seidel's funeral
Seidel's relatives said they were saddened to learn that Dindia, from Sandy, Oregon, had taken his own life on July 14 - the day of Seidel's funeral
The boat collision took place on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon
The river runs straight through the center of Portland, the biggest city on Oregon
Pictured: Lovea and friends at the celebration of Seidel's life on July 14
'Survivor's guilt is real, and it's something I'm gonna carry every single day,' Lovea said. Pictured: Lovea (left) and Seidel (right) enjoying drinks with a friend
Photos Seidel posted before the accident showed the duo smiling and laughing just three hours before she was killed.
Seidel's aunt Rachelle Hunsperger, after hearing Lovea's account, said that the driver should be charged with causing her death before Dindia's suicide.
Hunsperger told KPTV that Seidel was not usually one to worry, and if she was pleading with the driver to slow down it must have been very dangerous.
'That just seems so unlike her. She was always like, let's go, let's have fun. If she was telling somebody to slow down then she was probably scared,' she said.
'This was no simple accident. I feel that there is somebody definitely at fault and hopefully that comes out.'
Seidel's sister Aliyah also hit out at the boat driver, whom Seidel did not know well, for their alleged dangerous conduct.
'She was so innocent and taken so violently because of someone else's decision to be reckless,' she told the local news station.
'She was very spontaneous and she loved to have fun. She got invited out on a boat and she had no idea that that would be the last day of her life.'
Since the tragic news of Dindia's death emerged, Seidel's friends and family have said they were saddened by the news of his passing.
Support can be found through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988.
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