Hundreds gathered in Hartford on Wednesday to say goodbye to a retired Hartford police detective and city clerk who was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Noel McGregor was heading back home to Hartford on Oct. 22 with his friend and pastor Keith Miller after the pair went on a fishing trip to New London, when they pulled over on Route 2 in Colchester to go to the bathroom.
That’s when police say a driver, behind the wheel of a blue Jeep Grand Cherokee, hit McGregor and kept going.
“He was at the door waiting to enter,” Miller said. “I moved my head slightly, and by the time I moved my head slightly, I felt the jerk of the vehicle. By the time I looked around, I saw the shadow of him going down.”
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McGregor spent a month in the ICU and succumbed to his injuries on Nov. 22 at the age of 74.
He’s described as a pillar in the Hartford community.
“Noel McGregor was a person who was dedicated to the people of Hartford, as a member of the Hartford Police Department as a detective,” his nephew Marcus McGregor said. “He owned a restaurant here in town, he was an active member in his church, in his community. He was just a servant of the people.”
His celebration of life on Wednesday at The Artists Collective in Hartford was standing room only.
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“Like his beloved New York Giants, Noel was a giant in his own right,” his son Jared McGregor said.
“He has been a beacon of light in the community,” said Jendayi Scott-Miller, a family friend who refers to McGregor as her uncle. “I will continue his legacy by taking care of others.”
Loved ones said they’ll continue his legacy while also holding out hope that police will find the driver responsible.
“It’s not fair that I had to lose my uncle, our family had to lose their dad, his wife had to lose her husband. It’s not fair, so, we need to do something,” Scott-Miller said. “We are not going to stop until we get justice.”
If you have any information on the incident, you’re urged to contact state police.
