A 24-year-old man involved in a tragic tubing accident that killed a young woman took his own life on the day of her funeral, DailyMail.com has learned.
Tony Dindia was allegedly driving the boat towing 24-year-old Kaileigh Seidel on the Willamette River in Oregon on June 22 when he collided with another boat.
Seidel, of Vancouver, Washington, died on impact around 8 p.m. and his family had been calling for murder charges to be filed against Dindia.
But before any legal action could be taken, a second tragedy struck. Officers responded to Dindia’s home in Sandy, Oregon, and discovered she had died on July 14, the day of Seidel’s funeral.
Seidel’s family and Dindia’s friends confirmed that he had taken his own life.
“It’s very sad,” Seidel’s aunt, Rachelle Hunsperger, told DailyMail.com. “It’s not the kind of justice we were hoping for. Now his family has to go through what we’re going through.”
Tony Dindia, 24, took his own life after a tubing accident on June 22.
Tony Dindia was reportedly driving the boat towing Kaileigh Seidel (pictured) on the Willamette River in Oregon on June 22 when they collided with another boat and she died.
Seidel’s friend Millie Lovea, who was on board the ship and witnessed the accident, remembers 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, outgoing and adventurous.”
“Tony was a great person to the core, I looked up to him and his achievements,” Tiffany told DailyMail.com.
‘Tony will be greatly missed by all who had the honor of knowing him.’
Meanwhile, Seidel’s family released hundreds of pink balloons in her memory on July 14 outside Reign Church in her hometown.
They did not know that Dindia had also died just a few hours earlier.
Seidel’s devastated friend Millie Lovea, who was on board the boat and witnessed the horrific accident, shared videos of the encounter on Facebook and remembered her as someone who left “a mark on the hearts of others.”
“His love of adventure and his zest for life were truly inspiring and that’s what we did until the very last moment on that boat,” Lovea wrote.
‘Kaileigh faced every challenge with courage and grace, always finding the silver lining even in 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 inquiry into what happened on June 22.
Dindia was driving the boat towing Kaileigh Seidel (pictured) on the Willamette River in Oregon on June 22 when they veered off course and she collided with another boat.
Seidel, of Vancouver, Washington, died on impact around 8 p.m., police said, and his family had been calling for manslaughter charges to be filed against the driver.
Seidel’s family released pink balloons in her memory outside Reign Church in Vancouver, Washington, on July 14. Dindia took her own life the same day.
The fatal accident also occurred just weeks before television chef Naomi Pomeroy, 50, died while tubing with her husband and a friend on the same river.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Pomeroy’s body was recovered from the water near Corvallis around 8:25 p.m. Saturday.
Seidel’s friend Lovea described what happened on June 22 immediately afterward, saying the driver turned too fast.
She claimed Seidel was pleading with Dindia to slow down and drive less erratically, but he didn’t listen.
“My beautiful best friend and I had just gotten out into the water, and it seemed like we were having a great time, when everything changed in an instant,” she said.
“Seeing my friend hurt and feeling helpless is something I can’t stop feeling. Making the call to her family was even worse.
‘I feel overwhelmed with guilt and sadness, wondering why things happened the way they did.
‘I keep replaying the events in my mind, wondering what I could have done differently or better to save her.
“Survivor’s guilt is real and it’s something I’m going to carry every day.”
Officers were called to Dindia’s home in Sandy, Oregon, to discover she had died on July 14, the day of Seidel’s funeral.
Seidel’s family said they were saddened to learn that Dindia, of Sandy, Oregon, took her 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 directly through the center of Portland, Oregon’s largest city.
Pictured: Lovea and friends at Seidel’s celebration of life on July 14.
“Survivor’s guilt is real and it’s something I’m going to carry with me every 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 died.
Seidel’s aunt, Rachelle Hunsperger, after hearing Lovea’s account, said the driver should be charged with causing her death before Dindia’s suicide.
Hunsperger told KPTV that Seidel was not a normally caring person, and if he was pleading with the driver to slow down it must have been very dangerous.
“That doesn’t seem like her. She was always like, ‘Come on, let’s have fun.’ If she told someone to slow down, they were probably scared,” he said.
“It was not a simple accident. I think there is definitely someone at fault and I hope that it will be known.”
Seidel’s sister, Aliyah, also criticized the boat driver, whom Seidel did not know well, for his alleged dangerous behavior.
“She was so innocent and she was taken so violently by someone else’s reckless decision,” he told the local news station.
“She was very spontaneous and loved to have fun. She was invited to go on a boat trip and had no idea that it 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 her passing.
Support can be found through the suicide and crisis hotline by calling 988.
