Ned Catroppa is being remembered as a kind and generous individual who loved fly fishing, gardening and being around friends and loved ones.
The 68-year-old Penticton man was killed suddenly in a hit-and-run Monday night in downtown Penticton.
He was struck around 7:40 p.m. in the intersection of Winnipeg Street and Nanaimo Avenue West and pronounced dead later at hospital. The driver who hit him did not stop.
“It is with great sadness to learn my old friend and neighbour was killed by a hit and run driver,” said Blake Benjamin, a neighbour of 15 years. “Ned was a great guy, who would always lend an ear or helping hand to anyone who needed one. May he rest in peace.”
Friend Ralph Lay said Catroppa was one of the first people he met when he moved to Penticton.
“Ned was such a kind and gentle person, he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Lay said. “He appreciated the simple things in life and he was so much fun to be around.”
Catroppa was often seen walking between his home and Heales Ave. and his favourite pubs and service halls in the downtown. He suffered from gout and would walk slow.
Long-time Clancy’s Pub server Bonnie Birch said customers were filing in all day Tuesday both shocked and saddened by the news.
“Ned was a sweetheart, very generous, kind and a super nice guy,” Birch said. “We will all miss him.”
The investigation is ongoing.
“The Penticton RCMP have many resources assisting with this investigation, and are asking for any witnesses, along with any dash camera and surveillance video of this incident someone may have, to contact them,” detachment spokesman Const. James Grandy said in a press release Tuesday.
The intersection in question is near the Penticton Herald office, Revenue Canada and the Cherry Park Retirement Residence.
If you witnessed the incident, or have any other information, you’re asked to call the Penticton RCMP at 250-492-4300 and quote file No. 2021-2374.
Ned Catroppa is survived by his partner Linda Taylor of 34 years, one brother and one sister.
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