The chief lawyer at the University of California, Berkeley, was tragically killed in a hit-and-run while cycling over the weekend.
Father-of two Christopher Patti, 59, who was a beloved member of the UC Berkeley community, was found by police in Sonoma County – officials say they are still looking for the driver.
‘I speak for the Berkeley community in saying how grief-stricken we are at Chris Patti’s untimely death,’ UC Chancellor Carol Christ said in a statement Monday.
University of California, Berkeley’s chief lawyer, 59, was killed in a hit-and-run while cycling over the weekend
‘He was an extraordinary colleague. He loved the university and he had a deep core of integrity that motivated everything he did.’
She continued: ‘He was smart, he was compassionate. He was everything you wanted the counsel of the campus to be. We offer our sympathy to his family and his friends for this tragic loss.’
According to SFGate, Patti had pulled over on the side of Highway 116 to look at his phone early Sunday morning.
The California Highway Patrol revealed that a man driving a BMW lost control behind the wheel of his car – he didn’t stop at the scene of the crime but instead turned around and headed back toward Guerneville, police have said.
CHP officials have said he died around 8.45am.
There were eyewitnesses at the scene who said they saw the car drive into Patti. Jonathan Ritter, 28, has been named a person of interest by investigators.
Christopher Patti was a beloved member of the UC Berkeley community and his loss has hit the campus really hard
Patti was a very well respected and highly regarded man in his industry. His colleague, Charles Robinson from the University of California, said in a statement, according to the LA Times, that everyone looked up to the father-of-two.
‘Chris was a wonderful colleague and friend who cared about people and doing the right thing,’ he said.
‘He was an extraordinary lawyer to whom we all turned for advice and counsel. His loss is unfathomable.”
Patti, who is survived by his wife and two sons, graduated from Dartmouth College before getting his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School.
‘I speak for the Berkeley community in saying how grief-stricken we are at Chris Patti’s untimely death,’ UC Chancellor Carol Christ said in a statement Monday