KITCHENER -- The man who was killed after being hit by an LRT vehicle earlier this month has been identified by his family.
CTV News has confirmed that the victim was 39-year-old Jason Rastel.
He was struck on Jan. 4 at around 5 a.m. in the area of Columbia Street West, near Phillip Street.
Rastel was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was the first road fatality of the year and the first fatal LRT crash since the Ion was launched in June.
"I knew it wasn't a good situation with a lot of emergency vehicles," said nearby resident Roger Pinsonneault at the time. "I could see the train tracks were closed and both lanes were full of emergency vehicles."
A family member tells CTV that Rastel may have been homeless at the time of his death.
Police are still investigating the circumstances around the crash and have not confirmed the man's identity.
They've been looking at surveillance video and images from the crash in order to piece together what happened.
A funeral for Rastel is scheduled for Sunday, with the family asking for donations to the Canadian Mental Health Association or The Working Centre in lieu of flowers.
-- With reporting from Jennifer K. Baker and Rosie Del Campo
