Family members of a 35-year-old victim killed in a hit-and-run in Mississauga remembered him Thursday as a kind, hard-working man, and appealed for the driver of the vehicle that struck him to come forward.
Peel Regional Police say Markham resident Suresh Tharmakulasingam was crossing Dundas Street East near Dixie Road on Dec. 17 around 9:15 p.m. from the north side of the road to the south side when he was hit by a black older-model Ford Escape.
He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died a few days later.
The driver who struck Tharmakulasingam fled the scene, police said.
“My uncle was a very special person for me,” Tharmakulasingam’s nephew, Ariz Manothkumar, told reporters Thursday at the scene of where the crash occurred.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without him … He was always there for my birthdays, he was always there whenever I was sad and always brought me back up. He always made me happy…
“When I got news of when he was first in a car crash, all I had was questions: What happened? How did it happen? Is he OK? Did he die? What happened? After we got the news … that he died, I didn’t know what to feel. I was numb,” Manothkumar said.
Tharmakulasingam just married at the end of October. His wife is in Sri Lanka, family members said.
Manothkumar Selvarasa, the victim’s brother-in-law, told reporters that Tharmakulasingam was a “very nice person” and a “wonderful hard worker.”
“My family, everybody loved him,” Selvarasa said.
Det. Const. Taylor Halfyard said Tharmakulasingam had parked his tractor trailer in the parking lot of a Petro Canada and went across the street to get a coffee from Tim Hortons.
Once he got his coffee, he crossed Dundas mid-block heading south. When he got into the curb lane in the eastbound lanes, he was struck by the vehicle, Halfyard said.
Police described the car as a black 2008 to 2012 Ford Escape.
Halfyard said it’s not believed speed played a significant factor in the collision.
Both police and Tharmakulasingam’s family appealed for the driver to turn themselves in. Anyone who may have information on the collision or relevant video footage is also being asked to contact investigators.
“I know you probably panicked, but you deserve whatever jail sentence you will get,” the victim’s nephew said.
Halfyard said they have already spoken to several witnesses and obtained surveillance video from nearby establishments.
“Our goal is to bring closure to Suresh’s family, that they rightfully deserve,” Halfyard said.