Chris Righi was considered a celebrity in Newville, where everyone seemed to know him, and he wasn’t afraid to strike up a conversation with anybody.
Residents in the Newville area frequently saw him driving around town, usually with a trailer hitched to the back of his vehicle while he was working for his family’s business.
“There goes Chris, driving around Newville with his truck and trailer‚” they’d remark, according to his family.
Righi, 37, was doing just that Monday evening when the farming vehicle his dad was moving lost its steering controls on the 300 block of Greenspring Road in North Newton Township, about 100 feet from his family’s driveway.
A line of traffic grew while his dad’s friend was preparing to tow the vehicle, so Righi began directing traffic from the right shoulder.
At about 5:41 p.m., a 44-year-old Newburg woman headed east on Greenspring Road in a small Chevrolet SUV crashed into Righi while he was standing along the eastbound lane, sending him airborne, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Righi’s sister, Dominique Buterbaugh, said her dad saw the crash, called her and told her he thought Righi had died. When she got to the scene, she said she saw the wrecked Chevy about a quarter mile from where he was hit. Based on the extent of the damage, she initially thought the vehicle had hit a pole.
Police said Righi suffered multiple internal traumatic injuries and died at the scene. The driver was taken to Penn State Health Holy Spirit Hospital with minor injuries.
State police have not released the driver’s rate of speed or why she didn’t see Righi in time to stop. No charges have been announced.
Even so, family members said, the disabled vehicle’s strobe lights and the line of traffic should have been an indication to slow down.
“We don’t understand. You see that, you slow down automatically. It’s just what you do,” Buterbaugh said. “That’s what makes it additionally hard because it’s something that shouldn’t have happened.”
John Righi, Chris’s dad, said his son’s life was taken while helping him work — something Chris had done with his dad for years.
“The last 20 years Chris has been a giant help to me. He was always there,” John Righi said. “Everywhere I look, I see his work or things he helped with.”
An outpouring of love and support for Righi in Newville led his family to schedule a public memorial service from 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the Newville Fairgrounds. They are encouraging anyone who loved him to attend.
“He knew a lot of people in this town, and people knew him. We want them to come out and celebrate with us,” said his mom, Noni Righi.
Righi had a knack for striking up conversations with anybody, anywhere.
“Hi, how are ya? What’s your name?” he frequently asked, according to his family. Or, “I like your shirt,” if they were wearing something with a funny phrase. A half-hour conversation could follow from there.
He enjoyed anything with a motor, including pontoon boats, Jet Skis and heavy machinery.
“We had a zero-point mower that he was in his glory while driving around,” Buterbaugh said.
John Righi said Chris was always willing to donate his time or belongings to someone who needed them more.
“If he had money, he would spend it on whoever he was with, and it was all gone; it didn’t matter,” he said.
Chris Righi was especially eager to help out if it meant spending time with his three nieces.
During a family cruise two years ago, Righi spent more time with the girls than they spent with their parents, Buterbaugh said. He frequently picked them up from school to help out his sister and loved watching TV or movies with them, or going to the bowling alley.
The girls told their parents they would miss swimming and going to Hersheypark with him in the summer.
“Chris was more like a brother to me than an uncle,” said his niece Haley Buterbaugh. “He was always going on vacations with us. He was tons of fun and incredibly nice.”
Righi enjoyed any chance he got to travel and was excited about a family trip to Alaska this summer. He planned to see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco while on the West Coast, his family said.
“We loved him and will miss him,” Dominique Buterbaugh said.
Righi’s family is asking anyone who attends the memorial service to wear a funny shirt. They will be playing some of his favorite shows and movies, and providing snacks and food from his favorite restaurant.