The investigation into a hit-and-run collision which left a cyclist dead earlier this month ramped up on Thursday, as police in London, Ont., issued a photograph of the suspect vehicle.
The vehicle, identified as a two-door blue sedan with a loud muffler, is being sought in connection with the fatal Sept. 18 collision, which occurred between 4:30 and 4:45 a.m. along Hamilton Road near Little Grey Street, just east of Adelaide.
The victim, Jibin Benoy, a Fanshawe College student, had been biking home from a late work shift at a downtown restaurant when he was struck and fatally injured. Benoy was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Few other details have been made public in the ongoing investigation, and investigators have appealed to the public for information about the suspect vehicle and driver.
“Investigators continue to urge anyone who was on Hamilton Road on September 18, 2022, between 4:30 – 4:45 a.m., or who may have dash-cam, residential or business video that could assist with the investigation, to contact the London Police Service,” police said in a statement.
The budding engineer, originally from the state of Kerala, India, had moved to the city to study at Fanshawe, and had plans of making a life in Canada with his wife who was still back home. The couple wed in October, according to Benoy’s Facebook profile.
Speaking with Global News last week, Benoy’s boss at Kluck It, Ibraheem Halbouni, described the 29-year-old as, “always a friendly soul. Putting a smile on everybody’s face.”
“We run the restaurant like a family, we don’t distance ourselves from anybody… It’s more we lost a friend and a brother than we did a co-worker,” he said.
A GoFundMe launched by Halbouni for Benoy’s family raised more than $14,000, while a separate campaign by the London Ontario Malayalee Association had raised more than $45,000 as of Thursday.
On Tuesday, cycling advocates gathered to ride in honour of Benoy, calling on the city to improve cycling safety on Hamilton Road and across the city. A “ghost bike” memorial has been installed where Benoy was struck.
According to Halbouni, Benoy biked everywhere, including to and from work and to Fanshawe. His last words to his co-workers were, “drive home safe.”
Benoy was laid to rest in a ceremony held on Monday in the Kerala town of Koothattukulam, attended to by several dozen friends, family and loved ones.