By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Lapeer County – A young father and Goodrich High School graduate was killed June 13 while out walking with his fianc’e.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. Theodore Petrill, 26, stepped into Davison Road while veering around a mailbox when he was hit from behind by a GM Envoy driven by a 42-year-old Lapeer County woman, Bethany Watteny.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started at the scene, said Lapeer County Sheriff Deputy Jennifer Bird, but Petrill was pronounced dead on arrival at Lapeer Regional Hospital.
Petrill was a 1997 graduate of Goodrich High School who played tennis and hockey.
Although high school wasn’t always easy for Petrill, GHS teacher Bill Duso remembers ‘his incredible love for hockey? and the great love and concern of his parents and grandparents. Petrill was a ‘very happy-go-lucky young man? at times, said Duso, who went to school with the Petrill family in Flint.
Former GHS hockey coach Jeff Wolff, who attended high school with Petrill’s older sister Leslie Holt, ‘hung out in the same circle of friends? and knew Petrill since childhood.
‘He was a good hockey player. He stuck up for his team mates and never shied away from the physical part of the game,? said Wolff. ‘He was always respectful to me.?
Craig Webb of Goodrich, who graduated a year after Petrill, played hockey with Petrill on the GHS team as well as on a Mott Community College club team.
‘He always liked being at the rink and liked being around the guys in the locker room,? said Webb. ‘He was a real good people person, always had something to say.?
Petrill leaves his fianc’e Emily Saylor, two young children, Payton and T.J., parents Ted and Judy of Goodrich, two sisters, Leslie and husband Joe Holt of Goodrich; Laura and husband Bill Nick of Goodrich, and other local family members.
Saylor, 21, sustained minor injuries to her arm in the accident.
There is no indication alcohol or drugs was a factor in the accident. The case will undergo review by the Lapeer County Prosecutor’s Office, said Bird, who does not anticipate criminal charges will be filed.