本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛The family of a 27-year-old Toronto man is waiting to tell relatives in Canada and Eritrea about how he died early Sunday, pinned under the front suspension of an SUV in Virginia and dragged for almost 14 kilometres. They want to break the news in person.
Fitsum Gebreegziabher, a Canadian citizen, had been visiting his brother, Soloman, in Woodbridge, Va., for two months. He had stopped his brother's 1989 Toyota Camry on Interstate 95 southwest of Washington, D.C., to fix a flat, said Fairfax County police. He was standing behind the car when he was struck by a southbound Mitsubishi Montero at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr. said that according to the state medical examiner, Gebreegziabher died as the result of being dragged 13.7 kilometres under the SUV.
"The examiner believes he survived the (initial) impact," Horan said yesterday by telephone.
The driver didn't discover the body until he arrived home.
A relative of Gebreegziabher who lives in Canada had not yet been informed yesterday, said the Virginia family's personal lawyer, Richard Lundin. He didn't know details on that person's relationship to Gebreegziabher or whereabouts.
The family is also waiting to tell Gebreegziabher's parents, who are flying in from Eritrea, said Lundin, who is helping the family deal with media and the legal system. "They loved Fitsum very much, and they are shocked by the horror of the way in which their gentle and kind brother was taken from them," he said in a written release.
Gebreegziabher, who immigrated to Canada in 1991 after growing up in Ethiopia, had just graduated from an electrical engineering program at Seneca College. His full name translates to "complete work of God," a family friend said.
Gebreegziabher was "very devoted" to his family, Lundin said. "He was very polite and gentle in nature and would never say `no' to a request by a friend or family member."
Josuel Galdino, 25, is charged with felony hit-and-run, driving while intoxicated and manslaughter. Blood alcohol test results have not yet been released.
"We have to prove that he had a reason to believe that he had injured someone and he chose to ignore that and keep going," Horan said.
Galdino's lawyers said the man fled in panic after his vehicle slammed into the rear of the Camry. "He saw a person in front of the Camry at the last minute, but after the impact he didn't know the man was attached to the front of the vehicle," Daniel Lopez said.
"He called the police and told them that he thought he hit somebody."
A hearing is set for April 7. Galdino, who is being held without bond, wished to send condolences to the family, Lopez said.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Fitsum Gebreegziabher, a Canadian citizen, had been visiting his brother, Soloman, in Woodbridge, Va., for two months. He had stopped his brother's 1989 Toyota Camry on Interstate 95 southwest of Washington, D.C., to fix a flat, said Fairfax County police. He was standing behind the car when he was struck by a southbound Mitsubishi Montero at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr. said that according to the state medical examiner, Gebreegziabher died as the result of being dragged 13.7 kilometres under the SUV.
"The examiner believes he survived the (initial) impact," Horan said yesterday by telephone.
The driver didn't discover the body until he arrived home.
A relative of Gebreegziabher who lives in Canada had not yet been informed yesterday, said the Virginia family's personal lawyer, Richard Lundin. He didn't know details on that person's relationship to Gebreegziabher or whereabouts.
The family is also waiting to tell Gebreegziabher's parents, who are flying in from Eritrea, said Lundin, who is helping the family deal with media and the legal system. "They loved Fitsum very much, and they are shocked by the horror of the way in which their gentle and kind brother was taken from them," he said in a written release.
Gebreegziabher, who immigrated to Canada in 1991 after growing up in Ethiopia, had just graduated from an electrical engineering program at Seneca College. His full name translates to "complete work of God," a family friend said.
Gebreegziabher was "very devoted" to his family, Lundin said. "He was very polite and gentle in nature and would never say `no' to a request by a friend or family member."
Josuel Galdino, 25, is charged with felony hit-and-run, driving while intoxicated and manslaughter. Blood alcohol test results have not yet been released.
"We have to prove that he had a reason to believe that he had injured someone and he chose to ignore that and keep going," Horan said.
Galdino's lawyers said the man fled in panic after his vehicle slammed into the rear of the Camry. "He saw a person in front of the Camry at the last minute, but after the impact he didn't know the man was attached to the front of the vehicle," Daniel Lopez said.
"He called the police and told them that he thought he hit somebody."
A hearing is set for April 7. Galdino, who is being held without bond, wished to send condolences to the family, Lopez said.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net