‘We have nothing’: Family of hit-and-run victim pleads for info

Mbasuva Muukua, 26, was left to die on the side of the road after being struck by a vehicle. (Submitted)

The family of a young man killed in a hit-and-run in Surrey is pleading for the driver to come forward so they can have closure.

Mbasuva Muukua, 26, was left to die on the side of the road after being struck by a vehicle while crossing King George Boulevard shortly before midnight on Dec. 4.

He was transported to hospital but died of his injuries, and the driver fled the scene.

The victim’s sister, Riko Lubansa, says their family is heartbroken and they are desperate for information.

“We love him so much and he’s gone now and we have nothing. Not even closure to say what happened to him in the final moments,” she told CTV Vancouver by phone from Toronto.

“Was it just an accident? Did you not see? I understand you might be afraid, [I] can’t say what you’re feeling right now.”

Police believe the vehicle that hit the young man was travelling south, and investigators found a piece of a red plastic front bumper at the scene. It’s believed that it’s from a 1997 to 2001 Honda Prelude.

Muukua had moved from Ontario to B.C. just 10 months ago for work, and was trying to save money for college.

“He was the strongest in the family, he was fearless,” says Muukua’s sister. “He was so full of life.”

Now his family is raising money on a Go Fund Me page to send his body home to Namibia, Africa, where their parents live.

“I didn’t even know how you’re supposed to tell my parents,” says Lubansa, noting that the family doesn’t have the type of money to send the body home. “How do you tell them something like that? How do you tell them their baby’s gone?”

Now what the family wants most is for the driver to come forward, so they can learn what happened in their brother’s final minutes.

“We're just wondering if the person who did this has a heart. Who leaves anyone, a human being in the street?” asks Lubansa.

“We’ve forgiven you, whoever you are. We’re not mad at you, we don’t know if it was an accident… We’re just asking that you find it in your heart to come forward for closure."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Surrey RCMP.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Alex Turner