Hometown: Sacramento, CA
11-24-63 to 12-30-1998
Occupation: Taxi driver
Wife: Vicki
Children: 5 boys, 2 girls
E-Mail: v-b-peters@email.msn.com
1997 Photo from Gary Roberts
From Vicky Peters:
I would like to convey to everyone my thanks for
their wonderful concern for myself and my family in regards to Bob's death.
It was wonderful to see the amount of people that showed up for his memorial
service and the e-mails that I received after his funeral. Thank you all.
Bobby loved what he did and took life to the edge in everything he did. He
was very much loved by his family and I will miss him very much. Thank you
all again for being his friends, I dont think he really knew how many lives
he touched in his short time on this planet. God love and bless you all.
Ridden speedway 4 years, high points champ at Vallejo, 1995
USA - Cal Expo Sacramento, Dixon, Fast Friday Speedway, Solano County Fairgrounds, Sports Arena Vallejo, San Diego and Tuscon ICE races
(Dec. 31,'98) It is with deep regret that I have to announce the death of Northern California Speedway rider,
Bob Peters.
The articles from the Sacramento Bee below, gives details surrounding his death.
Bob Peters funeral was held at 2pm. Sunday Jan. 3,1999, at
Camellia Memorial Lawn
10221 Jackson Rd. in Sacramento.
"I sat with Bill Newby at the funeral.
I didn't know Bob did ice racing before he did Speedway, and it
was Bill Newby who got him into it.
The funeral was very well attended, being standing room only, I'd guess at around 150 people. Many
of his fellow cab drivers were there, along with a dozen or so Speedway people, plus other friends
and family. It was obviously a sad event, but most of the speakers did well to keep things fairly
upbeat. Can you please put a note on the web offering everyone the opportunity to help out Bob's
family and to request that donations go to his wife. "
Mrs. Vicki Peters
2205 Kensington Street,
West Sacramento, CA 95691
"I have always had deep concerns about the availability of guns in this country, but this is the
first time someone I know has fallen victim of it."
Gary Roberts
By Ralph Monta
Sacramento Bee Staff Writer
(Published Dec. 31, 1998)
Sacramento County homicide detectives arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder Wednesday after a cabdriver was shot
and killed in the Arden-Arcade area during an argument with an irate customer.
The 35-year-old cabdriver, Robert William Peters, was slain shortly after midnight in the 3500 block of Whitney Avenue when he
refused to take the angry man as a fare and ordered him out of the cab, officials said.
A husband and father of two children, Peters drove for Checker Cab Co. for more than two years in Sacramento.
The 17-year-old suspect, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, was arrested Wednesday afternoon after police
combed the neighborhood where the shooting occurred.
"All we can really do now is be more cautious," said Katherine Halterman, Checker Cab's general manager. "We tell our drivers to be
careful and not to pick up fares if they feel threatened."
Halterman said Peters was sent to pick up a fare in a parking lot on Whitney Avenue, but he found no one there when he arrived.
He left on another call when the person from Whitney, who used the name Mark, called back.
Peters returned to the parking lot and, this time, found a man waiting, Halterman said. The man was angry and complained that the
cabdriver took too long.
"When he told him to get out of the cab, the guy shot him," said Halterman. She said his co-workers were taking donations for
Peters' widow and children.
Investigators asked residents of the the neighborhood if they were familiar with a short young man with a slight build and short-
cropped hair, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Lt.John McGinness. He said the description matched a boy who lived in the
neighborhood.
After locating the boy, investigators questioned him and later arrested him in connection with the killing. The case has been forwarded
to the District Attorney's Office.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or (800) AA-CRIME.
By Ralph Monta
Sacramento Bee Staff Writer
(Published Jan. 1, 1999)
To Robert William Peters, getting robbed or stiffed for a fare was just part of being a taxi driver.
"It's part of the risk you take," he told one friend.
He chose to drive a taxi because he enjoyed meeting people and it allowed him a certain amount of
independence. He was pursuing a dream of one day having his own cab company.
"Just like any of us, he wanted to set himself up where he wouldn't have to work all the time and could spend
more time with his family," said Paul Pellandini, a friend for 10 years. "I can't believe that some idiot would just
shoot him cold."
Shortly after midnight Wednesday, the 35-year-old Peters faced another risky fare. This time, it cost him
everything.
Cabbies call them a "no-show" or a "no-go." The driver arrives at the correct time and place to pick up a fare,
but finds nobody there. It's a common occurrence, drivers say.
Sometimes, as in Peters' case, the person calls back. Peters responded to the second call and, according to
detectives, the irate customer shot him after an argument.
Sheriff's detectives later arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder.
Katherine Halterman, general manager for Checker Cab, where Peters worked for more than two years, said
the shooting has prompted a change: Drivers won't be sent to second calls for no-shows.
"They can call another cab company the second time," she said.
Cabdrivers are well aware of the risks they take every day.
"Sure, it's a dangerous job. You never know where you're going and who you're going with," said Richard Olvera
of Action Cab, who was lining up with other drivers Thursday for some holiday business near the Capitol.
"I've been robbed two times," he said. "It's something that happens."
Cabdrivers need better life and health insurance protection, Olvera said. Other drivers said they would like
protective cages in their cars or a state law imposing special penalties for harming a cabbie.
But Amjad Malik of Golden State Cab said drivers have bills to pay and have to keep working, regardless. "We
can't keep the doors closed," he said.
Peters wasn't one to complain about the hazards, and he worked shifts both night and day, Pellandini said.
When someone tried to stiff him for a fare, Peters would attempt to barter or get whatever fare he could, his
friend said. "He had regular customers who loved him. If Bob couldn't pick them up, they would just wait,"
Pellandini said. "He loved to make friends, and he loved his children."
Peters lived with his wife and a daughter in West Sacramento. He had other children as well, Pellandini said.
On the night he died, Peters responded to a call for a cab in a parking lot at the corner of Whitney and Watt
avenues, detectives said. It was a "no-show."
He left, but was sent back to the parking lot after the fare called back. Peters went back and found an irate young
man. When Peters ordered him out of the cab, the youth pulled out a gun and shot him, Halterman said.
Detectives combed the neighborhood for a boy matching the description of the gunman. The search led them to
the 17-year-old suspect, who was arrested after questioning.
