Calisa Maharaj was out of the country when she received the call that her younger brother, Navindra Sookramsingh, was hit by a car early Sunday morning.
“The first thing I did was call the hospital… I was able to speak with a doctor and he said he’s in critical,” Maharaj said.
“I was terrified.”
Maharaj said she came to Toronto and was in shock to see the severe injuries Sookramsingh had sustained.
“We are really lucky. He is really lucky to be alive. The injuries were so severe that it’s almost a miracle that he’s here,” she said.
“His road to recovery is really long.”
Maharaj said her brother was a happy man, who was full of life. He had just gotten a job at Pearson airport.
“He loved the job and (was) happy with himself for landing the job… He was so talkative and very full of life. He was active and silly,” she said.
Following the collision, her brother underwent two surgeries.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen and how many more there will be,” she said.
READ MORE: Hit-and-run in Brampton leaves 21-year-old pedestrian in critical condition
Officers responded at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday to the intersection of Clark Boulevard and West Drive, southwest of Queen Street East and Dixie Road.
Police said the 21-year-old was walking when he was struck, throwing him more than 20 metres. He was taken to a Toronto trauma centre with multiple broken bones as well as facial and internal injuries.
WATCH BELOW: A 21-year-old man is still in hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a car on Sunday morning.
Investigators said the vehicle, travelling southbound on West Drive when the collision occurred, did not stay at the scene after the collision.
Officers said the suspect vehicle is believed to be a small, beige compact car and the front bumper may be damaged.
READ MORE: 4 pedestrian fatalities in GTA in 24 hours; Toronto surpasses 2017 total deaths of road users
Maharaj and her family are making an appeal, asking the driver to come forward.
“It would give us some sense of comfort to know that somebody is responsible for this and they are taking that responsibility,” she said.
“Somebody hit my brother — the car wasn’t driving itself.”
Anyone in the area at the time who has information, surveillance video or dashcam footage is asked to call police at 905-453–2121 ext. 3710 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
– With files from Nick Westoll and Oriena Vuong