'He meant something to us': Family of PEI man killed in 'heinous' Toronto hit-and-run speaks out

Beverly Acorn remembers when her younger brother Darin announced his ambitions to make a life for himself in Ontario.

“I'm gonna continue to make Ontario my home,’” she recalls him saying nearly 40 years ago.

The 58-year-old, originally from Prince Edward Island, moved to Oakville with his sister and brother-in-law after the couple was posted there by the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 80s.

Darin was just 20 years old at the time. He’d go on to establish himself in Markham and find a career as a maintenance technician in Scarborough.

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“He had life ahead of him. He had plans,” Beverly told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

But Darin’s life and his plans for the future came to an end on May 7 when he was struck and killed by a driver in a Scarborough hit-and-run while crossing the street.

Beverly said her brother was taking transit back from a reunion in Oakville that night and had stopped in at his favorite bar near Markham Road and Sheppard Avenue East for a drink before catching the bus home.

“The bus was directly behind the car. He almost got on the bus and made it home. But he didn’t,” Beverly said before bursting into tears.

Officers were called to the area at approximately 12:35 a.m. for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. Darin, who was not identified as the victim by police at the time, was pronounced dead in hospital.

“I am 72 years old, and I never ever thought that I would be I would be dealing with the responsibility that I am, but also, the many layers of grief that this has caused us,” she said, describing the incident as a “heinous act.”

“When [the driver] realized what he did, he drove away and left my brother on the pavement to die.”

Police confirmed to CTV News Toronto that Darin Acorn was struck and killed on May 7 by a driver in a Scarborough hit-and-run while he was crossing the street. (Supplied)

A search for the suspect vehicle began following the deadly collision.

On May 9, police announced an arrest had been made.

Beverly said the accused was located at his house and arrested after the bus driver wrote down the suspect's licence plate and called police.

Adam Hosseini, 24, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with fail to stop at accident scene cause death, as well as an unlisted Highway Traffic Act offence. The charge has not been proven in court.

While making the long drive home to PEI after Darin’s celebration of life in Markham last week, Beverly reflected on the stories she had heard about her younger brother from those who knew him best: his friends, coworkers, and landlord.

They told her how he had become known as a dependable handyman in the area, someone who would mow lawns in the summer months and shovel driveways in the cold ones and never ask for money in return.

One friend, Beverly recalled, said Darin had even garnered a reputation for treating all the kids in the neighbourhood to ice cream on more than one occasion when the truck would roll around.

“He meant something to us. He was loved. He was respected. He was humble. He was kind. He had meager means. A huge heart and anything he had, he was willing to share with anybody in need,” Beverly said.

Beverly, her husband, and Darin’s friends travelled to the site of the crash last week, where a makeshift memorial now marks the location of a life cut short 

Friends and family of Darin Acorn are seen standing beside his memorial. The 58-year-old man originally from Prince Edward Island was struck and killed on May 7 by a driver in a Scarborough hit-and-run while he was crossing the street. (Supplied)