Funeral held for Chicago tow truck driver killed in Wisconsin hit-and-run crash

CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. (WLS) -- A funeral was held Friday for a suburban tow truck driver killed while on the job in Wisconsin on Christmas Eve.

Hussain Farhat was loading a disabled vehicle on I-94 east of Sawyer Road in Waukesha County, Wisconsin when he was hit by a minivan that police say fled the scene.

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Farhat was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He worked for Yaffo Towing in Chicago Ridge, the Waukesha County sheriff said.

Farhat had just moved to the U.S. three months ago from Palestine, his family told ABC7. His wife was nine months pregnant with their third child.

"To have a better life for his family, and his wife and kids, and that basically got cut short for him," relative Ashraf Ziada said.

The driver of the minivan, Christopher Sponholz, later turned himself in and is now facing felony hit-and-run charges, the Waukesha County sheriff said. Prosecutors said he told friends he initially thought he hit a deer. He's due back in court in February.

"It's a big loss to my whole village. He's truly a big loss, and he does have a nickname... he's the village guy... he's the guy everybody loved," relative Haref Farhat said.

The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol continue to investigate the crash.

No further information was immediately available.