Family, friends do charity work to honor victim of hit-and-run
Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News
Published March 17, 2007 at midnight
LITTLETON - One day before Becca Bingham prepared to deliver meals to AIDS sufferers and other seriously ill patients, she and her two small children were killed in a hit-and-run accident in downtown Denver.
On Friday, in memory of Bingham's 40th birthday, her husband, Frank, and about 15 of his wife's friends and relatives took on another project to carry forth her goodwill.
They met Friday at a Littleton warehouse donated to Project C.U.R.E., a charity that collects unused and discarded medical supplies and ships them to Third World nations.
Tammy Snowden had considered throwing a dinner to remember Bingham on her birthday, but she quickly realized she needed to do more.
" 'Let's do something beyond dinner,' " Snowden recalls telling others.
She remembered getting a call from Becca Bingham, after Bingham watched an Oprah Winfrey show that focused on AIDS and orphans in Africa. That show propelled Bingham, a Children's Hospital nurse who once worked in pediatrics and oncology, to take on AIDS victims as a cause, her husband and friends said.
Snowden knew Douglas Jackson, president of Project C.U.R.E., through her church and proposed the idea of getting Bingham's friends and family together to package the medical kits. Everyone agreed that it would be a great birthday gift in Bingham's memory.
"It's wonderful, it's touching," her husband said. "The kinds of friends Becca had are a wonderful, giving group."
Becca Bingham and her children - Macie, 4, and Garrison, 2 - were killed while crossing an intersection Nov. 10.
Lawrence Trujillo, 36, is facing multiple counts of vehicular homicide and child abuse.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.

