CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Friends remember Gregory Moore, 71 who died in a hit and run crash in Cape Coral Friday as a stylish, funny man.
Mark Jean Baptiste stopped by Moore’s apartment Saturday to tell him he was moving to a new neighborhood. He said he had no idea his friend, known affectionately as "Pepper" had died until Fox 4 told him.
“I just came to check on him and you told me he was gone,” said Baptiste “This hurts.”
Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD) said this is the seventh fatal car crash in the city so far this year. Last year there were eight total fatal crashes.
CCPD said Moore was walking on Cope Coral Pkwy near the Coronado PKWY intersection around 6:00 a.m. Friday when police said a car hit him and kept going. Moore died at the scene. Police said the driver later voluntarily went to the department for questioning.
Baptiste said he’ll remember Moore as an army veteran and someone who liked to wear fancy hats, suits and crack jokes.
“Every time I came over here he made me laugh,” he said. “He was a special guy. When I go home I’m going to cry like a baby.”
Police said Moore was crossing the street about 100 feet away from the crosswalk. But people in the area like Sallie Condello, who either walks or rides her bike to work at a nearby 7-Eleven, said drivers going too fast make this street dangerous, whether you’re walking in the crosswalk or not.
“I almost get hit a couple times a day. It’s up to you to watch out for them,” she said.
Condello also said she had known Moore for 30 years, as she’d see him waiting for the bus or visiting her store. She said it’ll be hard not seeing him stop by anymore.
“[You] expect to see him everyday and you’re not going to see him. That’s the sad part,” she said.
Police said drugs or alcohol may be factors in the crash.
