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Fanshawe College student Jibin Benoy was cycling home from his job at a downtown London fast-food joint two years ago when he was fatally struck by a vehicle.
The driver who struck Benoy, 29, on Hamilton Road, near Little Grey Street, around 4:40 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2022, didn’t stop at the scene. Benoy later died in the hospital from his injuries
Since then, London police have made multiple appeals to the public for information and released photos and videos of the suspect’s vehicle – a blue two-door sedan with a loud muffler – but no arrests have been made in the hit-and-run.
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A white ghost bike – a memorial to cyclists who’ve died and a reminder to the public about cycling safety – was placed at the crash scene, where Benoy’s friends and family have held demonstrations demanding justice for the international student from India.
“I feel so disheartened. It shouldn’t happen to anybody else,” said Abe Thomas of the London Ontario Malayalee Association, the organization behind the campaign for justice for Benoy. “I feel so sad for the family, for his wife, for his brother-in-law.
“Let’s hope they get justice sooner rather than later.”
Thomas said he contacted Mayor Josh Morgan and was told to reach out to police.
Sgt. Sandasha Bough said the investigation is “active and ongoing” but there were no new updates to provide on the two-year anniversary.
“We continue to appeal to members of the public, if they have any information to contact us,” Bough said.
Benoy, who worked as an engineer in India, moved to London to study operations management at Fanshawe and was in the final stages of bringing his wife, Riya Mathew, to join him in London at the time of his death. He had just finished a shift at Kluck-It, a now-shuttered eatery on King Street, and was cycling to his home on Highbury Avenue near Highway 401 when he was struck.
Canada is the deadliest country for Indian students studying aboard, according to a report released in July by India’s ministry of external affairs.
There were 633 deaths reported to the ministry over the past five years. Canada recorded the most fatalities, at 172, followed by 102 in the United States and 57 in Australia, the report said.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
@DaleatLFPress
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