Jacob Widelski Obituary – 21-year-old killed in motorcycle crash on Wade Avenue, Raleigh police investigating Several police cars are at the intersection investigating. A person is dead after a crash Tuesday night in Raleigh. According to police, the crash occurred around 6:45 p.m. when Jacob Widelski, 21, was riding a 2010 Honda Fury motorcycle eastbound on Wade Avenue. At the same time, a 2015 Toyota Prius and a 2012 Hyundai Elantra were being driven westbound on Wade Avenue.
The investigation says that Widelski lost control of his motorcycle near the Glenwood Avenue bridge, crossing the raised center median into the westbound lanes. The motorcycle fell, slid on the road, and sideswiped both the Toyota Prius and the Hyundai Elantra. Widelski was ejected from the motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Several police cars were at the intersection. Wade Avenue between the Glenwood Avenue/US 70 intersection and St. Mary’s Street was closed for several hours but has since reopened. No charges were filed for this incident. Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Related Article – Paris mayor dips into the Seine River to showcase its improved cleanliness before Olympic events. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip Wednesday in the Seine River, fulfilling a promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics as well as part of the opening ceremony, now only nine days away. Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Clad in a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo plunged into the river near the imposing-looking City Hall, her office, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
“The Seine is exquisite,” said Hidalgo from the water. After emerging, she continued to rave, “The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad.” She also said today was “a dream” and a “testimony that we have achieved a lot of work,” referencing the city’s “swimming plan” that was launched in 2015. They swam down the river for about 100 meters, switching between crawl and breaststroke. “After twenty years of doing sports in the river, I find it admirable that we are trying to clean it up,” said Estanguet, who has three Olympic gold medals in canoeing.
It’s part of a broader effort to showcase the river’s improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which will kick off July 26 with a lavish open-air ceremony that includes an athletes’ parade on boats on the Seine. Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Originally planned for June, Hidalgo’s swim was postponed due to snap parliamentary elections in France. On the initial date, the hashtag ”jechiedanslaSeine” (“I’m pooping in the Seine”) trended on social media as some threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream. That didn’t deter Hidalgo, who carefully entered the river Wednesday using a ladder on an artificial pond, set up for the event. Seven security boats were deployed for the occasion. The upper banks were crowded with curious spectators.
“I wouldn’t have missed that for anything in the world,” said Lucie Coquereau, who woke up early to get the best view of Hidalgo’s up from the Pont de Sully bridge that oversees the swimming site. Enzo Gallet, a competitive swimmer who has taken part in France’s national open-water championship, was among athletes invited to test the Seine alongside the Paris mayor. The 23-year-old swam just a few meters from Hidalgo. “Her crawl form was pretty good,” he said, emerging from the water. “It’s pretty special to be among those who swam in the middle of Paris for the first time in a long, long time.”
