Edmonton police and the family of a young man killed in a hit-and-run last Friday are appealing to the driver to come forward.
Manoli Rurak, also known as Mike, was found injured outside an apartment building on 109 Avenue and 84 Street at around 4:30 a.m. after emergency services received an anonymous 9-1-1 call. Paramedics rushed Rurak to the Royal Alexandria Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
“What has been done is not right,” said Anjelika Yacey, the victim’s sister. “(The driver) had enough time to think about what they did. They’re hurting as much as we (are), but it’s time to come forward.”
Police spokeswoman Karen Carlson said the EPS Traffic Section is now heading the investigation, though homicide detectives remain involved.
“We still need the person who called 9-1-1 to come forward,” she said. “The key is to ID the person who made that call and identify the vehicle.”
Yacey wants to personally thank the caller, who dialed from a payphone on Jasper Avenue and 94 Street, for not letting her brother lie on the street injured and unnoticed.
Yacey described Rurak as a kind and honest man. She said he donated to charities as often as he could.
“His biggest passion was drawing,” Yacey said. Rurak had planned to study graphic design at university.
“He could have taught that course,” Yacey said of her brother’s talent.
Prayer services will be held for Rurak tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. His funeral will be held tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at the same location.
