Sad News - Harry Bartolomei
CASTRO VALLEY — An 80-year-old man died Monday after his gun accidentally discharged while he was cleaning it.
Harry Bartolomei of Castro Valley was cleaning his .45-caliber pistol in the parking lot of the Anthony Chabot Gun Club, 9999 Redwood Road, when the gun inadvertently fired, said Lt. Dave Dubowy, an investigator for the East Bay Regional Park District police.
The incident was reported at 3:17 p.m. When Alameda County Fire Department paramedics arrived at the scene, they found Bartolomei lying behind his parked pickup truck with a single gunshot wound to the head, Dubowy said.
Bartolomei was pronounced dead at the scene.
East Bay Parks Detective Sgt. Dale Davidson said his office has closed its investigation into Bartolomei's death because there was no evidence of criminal activity.
"We're satisfied at this point that it was purely an accident — an unfortunate accident," Davidson said. "There's no other reason to keep the case open. ... Based on everything we've learned, it was his hobby, and he went there to enjoy the afternoon."
A woman who identified herself as Bartolomei's wife declined to comment when approached by The Daily Review at her Castro Valley home. "We're not news, we're not news," she said.
However, the accident that led to Bartolomei's death underscores the need to use caution when handling firearms.
I was thinking about Harry yesterday
Harry had bought all of our stuff when we quit and I had planned on talking to him about our old D motor and the hydros. Sam had E mailed me his phone number a few months ago. I learned this lesson once before, but still did not heed it. Don't put off calling. Do it or it may be too late. Very sorry to hear about his passing.
Castro Valley...Harry Bartolomei's Home....
I don't know why this comes to mind, maybe because I just got back from Bakersfield...where my mind slipped back a few years....Maybe, it was because I'd seen Bill Jack Rucker, Jr. two weeks ago at San Diego...
In 1967, Harry told me to fly up to Oakland and pick up his new 1967 Ford wagon and head for Valleyfield, he told me I had to go to DeSilva boats on the way to pick up a few boats to deliver....
Harry, in my mind, in those and even today, was about half crazy and I'm not sure which half. Even though he'd quit driving Race Boats, because his wife worried about him, he still did CRAZY things....
We'd just pulled into Harry's driveway when some DUDE pulls up on a pretty new HONDA motorcycle.....If you've never been in Castro Valley, the houses are built on like small lots, like they are stair stepped for each lot...So, Harry's house is like one house from the corner, but he had a view, and his lot was maybe 25 feet higher than the neighbor's...All the houses are seperated by hedges....All seemed to have views...
Well, this Dude on the motorcycle, revs her up and shut's her off...Harry introduces me to the DUDE. Harry kind of climbs on the motorcycle....The guys says,"You want to ride it...Harry says, "NO. but let's hear her again....Harry revs her a couple of times.....Then, he drops it into NEUTRAl, he thinks...(I guess on old Harley's all the way down on the shifter was neutral..on the HONDA it was low gear)...Harry revs this mother like he's going to shut her off and let's the clutch out, thinking she was in neutral....
The SUCKER does a wheelie, Harry almost flys off the back, his legs are clear above the handle bars, and he goes right though the neighbor's hedge and down the 25 foot inbankment....the DUDE and me run t see if Harry has been killed, we look over this hedge, just in time to see Harry gain control of the bike, but the neighbor had been reroofing and he'd layed his 20 foot ladder across his driveway. Harry goes across this ladder at about fifty miles an hour, like a wash board, Harry is hanging on to his jock strap, he about flys off again, then he disappeared over the side of the neighbor's lot...
This Dude and I are laughing our asses off but we aren't really sure if Harry hadn't killed himself ....About the time we start to run over to the neighbor's, when Harry comes up the drive way....He says, "I thought I was putting this mother in neutral...." We said, "That was the funniest thing we ever saw....."
And as I drove off in Harry's new Ford wagon, I thought, and his wife doesn't want him racing boats......I get tears in my eyes laughing about that day....