Friends and family described Roger L. Tetu as an iconic patriarch who spent his days "tinkering" around the yard, shoveling snow, planting flowers, cutting grass and feeding the squirrels.
He was crossing the busy intersection in front of his home to pick up some litter on Tuesday afternoon when a car slammed into him and sped away.
Police said the 78-year-old died in front of the home where he had lived for 56 years.
Tetu was walking west on Margaret Street and crossing Earl Street at about 4:30 p.m. when the car driving northbound on Earl hit him.
"The car was located last night nearby," police spokesman John Keating said on Wednesday, but there was no one in the Dodge Neon.
"We are looking for a specific person we believe may have been driving," Keating added.
By Wednesday afternoon, a memorial of teddy bears, streamers and balloons had been set up on the corner. Family members and friends brought gifts to the home throughout the afternoon and several passersby honked their horns and called out "God bless."
Tetu raised all 10 of his children at the home -- including Monica, who was 8 years old when she was killed in the neighborhood by a hit-and-run driver on July 20, 1970.
