CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — Troopers are looking for a driver who hit and killed a man on a Catawba County highway Thursday night.
The crash happened at about 10:40 p.m. near Penny Road, and it shut down U.S. Highway 70 in both directions west of Claremont.
Troopers said a man who was on U.S. 70 was hit by a vehicle that left the scene. Someone who works nearby told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty one of the vehicles involved stopped briefly before leaving.
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The man, Raymond Lee Gentry, 63, of Conover, died at the scene, troopers said.
Faherty spoke with several people who said they knew Gentry. They said you could see him walking through town almost every day.
“He walked the whole town,” said Telicia Hefner, who works at a salon in Claremont. “It’s upsetting. He’s a human being and everybody in the community knew him and the whole community is pretty upset over it.”
Danny Hedrick, of Claremont Automotive, said Gentry stopped by his shop to exchange coins he had collected for dollar bills.
“He’d would stop in and say hello,” Hedrick said.
He hopes the driver comes forward in the case.
“It’s a shame,” Hedrick said. “Nobody should be done that way.”
“People are mean, people are garbage. I mean I hate to say it like that, but, you know, it’s just the way the world is, you know?” one driver said. “Claremont is very, very small, so you’re going to find somebody who is going to talk about it.”
The highway reopened just after 2 a.m. Friday.
State troopers said they canvassed the area looking for possible surveillance video in hopes of identifying the vehicle involved.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is asking anyone who may have been involved or seen something in the area of U.S. 70 from about 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. to call them at 828-466-5500.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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