Langley services set for Cloverdale man killed on Pitt Meadows highway

Hundreds are expected to attend a memorial service being planned in Langley Tuesday for a young man struck down in Pitt Meadows last week.

Hockey sticks screwed to a power pole form a cross covered and surrounded by letters and black-and-white pictures of Craig Lilly.

A few Easter lilies, other flowers, and even a bouquet of white roses – with large raindrops, like tears, on their plastic covering – sit at the foot of the pole.

And a strip of police tape flaps in the wind every time a car zooms past the spot where the 23-year-old Cloverdale-area man was hit just around midnight Wednesday night.

Lilly was critically injured while apparently jaywalking across seven lanes of Lougheed Highway on Wednesday night.

“This is a very tragic event,” said a statement released by Ridge Meadows RCMP Const. Mike Moore.

Moore said Lily ran across a dark part of the road. Heavy rain made visibility poor for drivers.

He said the driver of the westbound pickup that struck Lilly was not under the influence of alcohol, and that “the driver did stop and has cooperated with the investigation.”

Police said paramedics, as well as Pitt Meadows firefighters and an off-duty nurse, all rendered medical aid at the scene.

Lilly was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital, but reportedly died later of his injuries.

Now, all that remains at the accident scene is the memorial.

Included in the tribute were a few notes.

Among them, stuck inside a plastic sleeve to protect it from the rain, was a note from Kaity: “We lost a really special friend and family member in you. I know for me, at least, it still doesn’t seem real that you’re gone.”

Kaity added, “I don’t think I was ever around you and not having some sort of fun. All my memories of you, from when I was really small and to now, have been happy.”

“We all hold a special place for you in our minds and hearts – I feel like there is a hole there now without you with us, like nothing will be the same – you’re amazing and I love and miss you,” Kaity concluded.

Another hand-written note, from Li’l Tim and Cassidy, included a number of hand-drawn hearts. It, too, had been slipped into a plastic sleeve for protection.

“We will always love you and we will never forget you,” the note said. “We wish you were still here, but we will live through it. Although it’s hard, we will let you go. But you’ll always be in our hearts – know that we love you.”

Services set

A celebration of life is in the works.

The service will be held on Tuesday, April 29, at 12:30 p.m. at the Christian Life Assembly church on 56th Avenue in Langley.