HOUSTON – A Houston nurse struck and killed Friday by a vehicle near Hermann Park is being remembered for his infectious personality.
Ronnel Lapid, 30, died on July 17 while he was engaged in his favorite past time — running. Houston Police said the Lapid was struck around 6:15 a.m. by a Cadillac Sedan in the 5900 block of Fannin Street. The driver was questioned but not charged.
Lapid was the middle child of three siblings. His older sister, Dianne, said Lapid left his job as a nurse in Dallas to be closer to family. He had only been working in the ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital for about two months before tragedy struck. Registered nurse McKenzie Diskin said in that short time, Lapid made an impact.
“Everybody was overly impressed by him even from the get go,” said Diskin. “He was a phenomenal nurse, a wonderful person and everyone that knew him would see that.”
Diskin trained Lapid when he started at Houston Methodist. She said he brought with him a wealth of knowledge about the coronavirus.
“It was very valuable. Right in the middle of all this it was very new to a lot of people and him specializing in those patient’s back in Dallas, it was very helpful,” she said.
Lapid was a well-respected nurse and an avid runner. His sister Dianne said he would run 13.1 miles daily, either to Memorial Park or Hermann Park, where he was killed.
Dianne said her family assumed Lapid had gone missing when a colleague called to notify them that he didn’t show up to work on Saturday. Through social media, the family learned of his passing on Sunday.
Lapid is survived by his mother, father, older sister and younger brother.