Friends of the 29-year-old man who died last weekend in a hit-and-run are urging the driver to come forward.
Jordan Gillis was struck and killed early Sunday morning at the intersection of Hazel Street and Austin Drive.
His friends, including Aleisha Curtois, were the last people to see him alive.
“I just didn’t think it would ever happen this way,” she says of Gillis’ death. “It’s not a nice way to be going out but definitely not the way we thought he’d go out.”
Curtois says the night he died was like any other Saturday: they went out with a group of friends and then all returned to her apartment.
There, Gillis whipped up his famous candy bacon, described as bacon sprinkled with brown sugar and maple syrup.
At about 4 a.m., he left for the half-hour walk home. But Gillis never made it.
“Knowing that somebody so special is not going to be there anymore is a real hard thing to accept,” says Daniel Cook.
The morning of the hit-and-run, witnesses told police they saw a red SUV-type vehicle travelling on Hazel Street toward Columbia.
Officials have narrowed the search down to three models: A red Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass or Dodge Calibre.
“We really want to appeal to the public, we want to appeal to our auto body repair facilities to be very vigilant,” says Staff Sgt. Scott Diefenbaker.
Gillis’ friends say it’s tough knowing the driver is still out there.
“It just makes it that much worse for everybody who knew him,” says Mike Cook. “There’s no closure at all with the way it is now.”
They say they hope the driver or someone who knows them will be moved to action.
“If he’s out there, or she’s out there watching this, please do the right thing,” says Daniel Cook. “Go to the police, because it’s the only way you’ll feel at peace mentally.
Jordan Gillis’ funeral will be held Saturday in Cape Breton where the 29 year old was from.
