“She leaves behind a lot of loving family who will be absolutely heartbroken, as you can imagine,” she said.
“She was a very kind person, and a lovely lady.”
Bray said Penman had lived in the area for a long time and was a “big part” of the local community. Her husband worked at the supermarket where she was struck.
“It’s a devastating loss for the Sunnynook community,” she said.
Asli Can, another of Penman’s friends, said she had met with her regularly for coffee over the past five years – sometimes twice a day.
The pair had shared their usual coffee at The Great Cafe yesterday and spoke on the phone later in the evening.
“She sounded so happy. She said, ‘see you in the morning, love’.”
But when Can met the rest of their group this morning, she was informed Penman had died.
“All our friend group and The Great Cafe staff cuddled and cried,” she said.
“I sat on her chair where she usually sits, in the corner first chair on the left.”
Can said Penman was “so kind”, supporting her through hard times and even gifting her a quilt she had made with her late mother.
“She was a lovely lady who would sit and talk even with homeless, unfortunate people.”
Woolworths Sunnynook staff gathered in the carpark where Jeanette Penman died after a car hit her last night.
Woolworths New Zealand confirmed the victim was a family member of one of the Sunnynook store team.
“We are devastated by this incident and our continued focus is on supporting our team and their whānau to the fullest extent possible,” a spokesperson said.
The Herald observed about 20 staff outside the supermarket, including the victim’s husband, listening to a speaker about 10.45am.
The spokesperson said the gathering was a blessing ceremony.
Photos from the scene last night show a vehicle appeared to have collided with a metal trolley bay, which collapsed.
The supermarket on the corner of Sunnynook Rd and Sycamore Drive was closed last night and reopened today.
“Our immediate focus is on supporting our team and their whānau to the fullest extent possible,” a Woolworths statement said last night.
The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating after Jeanette Penman was run over in a carpark in Sunnynook, on Auckland’s North Shore. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Katey Warren, who lives near the carpark, said the situation was “so sad and devastating for everyone involved”.
Warren told the Herald she regularly walks through the carpark and the incident showed “how quickly things can change”.
The crash in a shopping centre carpark happened about 6.30pm last night. Photo / Hayden Woodward