UK employee Timothy Moore was hit and killed by a car at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning on South Upper Street.

Moore, 56, was standing outside of Peterson Service Building on the corner of South Upper Street and Bolivar Street, when he was hit and killed by an alleged drunk driver, according to Mike Duffy, Moore’s boss and manager of UK Heating and Cooling Department. 

Moore was giving directions to Tolly-Ho to another pedestrian, Louisville Metro Police Detective Jason Schweitzer, who was also killed in the accident.

Lexington Police said the driver was 26-year-old Suzanne M. Whitlow. She is charged with two counts of 2nd degree manslaughter and one count of DUI. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Whitlow had completed a DUI course a couple of weeks prior to the accident.

According to Duffy, another worker on shift, Charles “Bob” May, was on the street where the two men were hit, but moved out of the way fast enough to not get hit.

Moore had been a UK employee at the Central Heating Plant for 14 years, Duffy said. Prior to his employment at UK, he was an engineman 3rd Class in the Navy, served two complete tours and received five combat medals for his service.

“He was looking forward to retiring soon and moving back to Cincinnati to be closer to his children and grandchildren,” Moore’s son Michael said. 

Moore moved to Lexington to be closer to his mother and step-father. His mother has now passed away, according to Michael Moore. His step-father is in a local assisted living home.

“He was a really great guy, son, father and grandfather,” Moore’s friend and colleague Shawn Altizer said.

Altizer shared stories about Moore’s time in the war, how he learned how to cook and his family and his day-to-day life, in an interview on Monday. 

Altizer recalled the moment he heard about the accident. He had been waiting for a call from Moore to update him on his shift, but he was hesitant when it never came. Altizer said he could feel the blood rush to his face and his knees going weak when his supervisor told him what had happened.

Moore was a father to his three children and a grandfather of 12 children. He loved to talk about his family and their plans, according to Altizer.

“This is a terrible tragedy for his family and for his UK family. Mr. Moore was one of the people that keep the place running day in and day out. It is a tremendous loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton said in an official statement.