AKRON, Ohio — A heartbroken Akron family is speaking out and begging the public for help after their loved one was killed by a hit-and-run driver Saturday night.
Akron Police continue to search for the driver of a black SUV who struck 38-year-old Jesse McCool while he was crossing South Main Street near East Miller Avenue just before 10:30 p.m. — and then drove away.
RELATED: Akron man killed by hit-and-run driver
McCool's sisters, Katrina McCool and Celestine Saunders, are urging the driver to come forward and demanding accountability.
"I'm angry. I'm upset. You saw him hit your windshield and go over your car and hit the ground at the back of your car. How could you just drive off like he wasn't a human?" Saunders said.
Witnesses called 911 immediately after the crash.
"Somebody just hit this man," one caller told a dispatcher.
When the dispatcher asked whether the other car had left, the caller confirmed: "Yeah, the other car just drove away."
McCool was taken to an Akron hospital and died the following day.
His sisters remember him as a loving, outgoing, and family-oriented man who lived with some mild developmental delays and brought joy into every room.
"Anybody that he did organically have a relationship with, they liked my brother because he was so light-hearted, fun to be around. He never took life too serious," Katrina McCool said.
A family video showing Saunders' 2-year-old son playing basketball with Jesse — recorded earlier this month, two days before his 38th birthday — has become both difficult and meaningful to watch.
"I can't stop breaking down in tears every time I look at it because I just can't believe that's the last time that I was gonna see him, or my son was gonna see him," Saunders said.
The sisters said McCool did not drive and loved to walk.
"I do remember our walk and talks. We used to walk and talk all the time, just about life, family circumstances and keep each other in the loop," Katrina McCool said.
Lt. Michael Murphy said police investigators believe the driver may have been speeding. Detectives are continuing to search for the black SUV, which should have front-end damage from the crash.
"We're hoping that there's camera footage out there somewhere, or someone may have seen something that can help us identify who this individual may be," Murphy said.
Katrina McCool said the act of leaving the scene is what hurts most.
"When you leave the scene, that's intentional and that's what has me hurt and upset the most. It's nothing but intention behind that," she said.
While the family says they have room for forgiveness and understand the crash may have been an accident, they want the driver to be held accountable and charged for the hit-and-run.
"He was an uncle, a friend, a brother, a cousin," Saunders said. "We loved him and for somebody to take him away from us, it hurts."
The family is planning a balloon release to honor McCool and to call for justice for Jesse.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Akron Police Department Accident Reconstruction Unit at 330-375-2506.
