Royston: Tribute To Pedestrian
12 November 2012, 14:28 | Updated: 12 November 2012, 14:36
A man from Royston, killed after it's thought he was hit by several cars, has been described as a popular young man'.
22 year old Oliver George Pritchard [pictured - right] was pronounced dead on the A505 near Baldock at around 5:30am on Saturday morning.
It's believed he was walking towards Royston when he was hit by a black BMW.
According to Hertfordshire Police, a number of vehicles stopped at the scene but it's thought further cars drove past and may have struck him.
His family would like to issue the following tribute statement about him:
"Ollie will be sadly missed by his mother Sarah, stepfather Tony, father Andy, grandparents Ann and Bill and his younger brothers Tom (20) and Oscar (15).
Ollie grew up in the village of Barkway, north Hertfordshire, living there until he was 16 years of age.
He then moved in with his mum and stepfather in Royston.
When he was younger he enjoyed being out and about with his friends or taking part in outdoor activities like building ramps where they could use their BMX bikes.
He attended Barkway Primary School, Greneway Middle School in Royston and then progressed onto Freman College in Buntingford.
In March this year, Ollie began working full-time at Johnson Matthey as a Production Operative.
His role saw him making automotive catalytic convertors. Ollie was always enthusiastic about his work at JM and the new opportunities that it presented to him.
Ollie was a popular young man.
He was particularly close to a group of lads who he grew up within Barkway village.
Despite the fact they have all now gone different ways in life, the 'Barkway Boys' have always retained a strong bond.
He also has many other good friends who miss him deeply.
He had a passion for cars and had owned no less than ten different vehicles since passing his driving test shortly after his 17th birthday.
He particularly liked Volkswagens and was very fond of his current Golf GTi, a car that he was working hard for to keep it on the road.
He liked nothing more than modifying and maintaining his latest car during his free-time. Ollie's younger brothers Tom and Oscar looked up to him and he was always there for them if they ever needed support or got into any trouble.
He also loved animals, particularly the two family dogs, a Jack Russell called Poppy and a West Highland Terrier called Alphie.
If Ollie was ever feeling down, he would spend time with the dogs and they provided a great source of comfort to him."
His mother Sarah said: "We are absolutely devastated about what has happened to Ollie.
It is such a terrible shame as he was reaching a time in his life when everything was beginning to slot into place.
He was enjoying his job and regularly saw his friends and loved socialising with them.
Ollie was a strong willed character who knew his own mind and I am very proud of him and everything he was achieving in his life.
Overall he was a lovely lad, who would help anyone out if they needed anything and who always had time for other people.
We will all miss him terribly."
Police are continue to investigate the collision.
Sergeant Neil Emmerson, from Hertfordshire's Road Policing Unit, said: "My thoughts are with the man's family at this very distressing time.
We are carrying out inquiries at the scene of the collision, however we'd like to speak with anyone who drove eastbound on the A505 around the time of the incident at 5.30am or shortly after.
You may not have realised you had been involved in a collision but we'd like to speak to you as you could greatly assist the investigation.''