Virginia Speed Bump Leads to Neighborhood Activist's Murder

A Virginia man who rallied to have a traffic-calming speed bump installed on his street became the source of so much local controversy that a neighbor recently shot and killed him.

1 minute read

September 17, 2010, 8:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


48-year-old Stephen Carr had worked to install the speed bump in front of his house to try to slow down speeding drivers. But neighbor David A. Patton was not a fan of the speed bump. He reportedly assaulted Carr over the bump. But before a court date over that misdemeanor, Patton broke into Carr's house, tied him up and then fatally shot him in the head.

"Carr's next-door neighbor on Field Master Drive, Willis Palmer, said Carr 'brought my paper to my door every morning. He helped people with blowing leaves and cleaning their gutters. He was very active around here.'

But because of his activism over the speed hump, Palmer said, Carr was also a source of controversy.

'People would come by at night and honk their horn,' Palmer said. 'I told him he should be careful. He said he could take care of whatever anyone did to him.'"

Monday, September 13, 2010 in The Washington Post

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