A suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with a hit-and-run in east Mississauga in December that left a 35-year-old man dead, police say.
Peel Regional Police said 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 Ford Escape.
Police said Tharmakulasingam had just left a Tim Hortons and was attempting to walk back to his tractor trailer which was parked at a gas station across the road.
As he reached the curb lane for traffic heading east, he was struck by the vehicle, police said.
The driver allegedly left Tharmakulasingam at the scene without stopping.
Tharmakulasingam was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died on Dec. 24.
In January, his family held a press conference where they remembered him and appealed to the driver to turn themselves in.
“My uncle was a very special person for me,” Tharmakulasingam’s nephew, Ariz Manothkumar, told reporters from the scene of where the collision 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.”
Tharmakulasingam just married at the end of October.
Manothkumar Selvarasa, the victim’s brother-in-law, told reporters that Tharmakulasingam was a “very nice person” and a “wonderful hard worker.”
When appealing for the driver to turn themselves in, Tharmakulasingam’s nephew said, “I know you probably panicked, but you deserve whatever jail sentence you will get.”
Peel police announced Friday that an arrest had been made.
They said in collaboration with Toronto police, 38-year-old Toronto resident Luke Conklin was arrested Thursday and charged with failure to stop after an accident causing death.
Conklin is scheduled to appear in court on July 25.
Police said the vehicle believed to be involved in the crash has been recovered.
Anyone with information is still being asked to contact investigators at 905-453–2121 ext. 3710 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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