Family mourns Chicago tow truck driver killed in Wisconsin hit-and-run: 'The guy everybody loved'

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (WLS) -- Loved ones gathered Thursday to remember a Chicago tow truck driver was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Christmas Eve in Wisconsin.

The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Hussain Farhat, authorities said.

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The crash happened around 6:41 p.m. Tuesday on the eastbound shoulder of I-94 east of Sawyer Road in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

Farhat was loading a disabled vehicle on the shoulder of I-94 when he was struck by a blue minivan that fled the scene after the crash, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department said.

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

It was an emotional evening at a vigil in Bridgeview for relatives and friends honoring his life.

Loved ones spoke exclusively with ABC7 and said Farhat was a family man who always tried helping those around him. They're struggling to comprehend the loss, and said he recently moved to the U.S. to try and create a better life for his family.

"It's so hard for me... that's my brother," the victim's brother, Mohammed Farhat, said. "All of them here, that's their brother... So I can't believe that, man."

The sheriff's department received a tip Wednesday about a possible suspect wanted in the hit-and-run crash, and a 39-year-old man from Wales, Wisconsin later turned himself in to police.

The suspect, Christopher Sponholz, is facing a felony charge for Hit & Run Causing Death, and he appeared in court Thursday. Prosecutors said he told friends he initially thought he hit a deer. He's due back in court in February.

"You see blinking lights, you see a man in the road... you put your foot on the brakes, it's not a hard thing to do," relative Haref Farhat said.

Farhat just moved to the U.S. three months ago from the Middle East.

"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.

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Farhat's wife is also nine months pregnant with their third child.

Now, their loved ones are rallying around her while reflecting on the joy he often shared with those around him.

"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," Haref said.

Loved ones will come together again for a funeral service Friday afternoon.

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

No further information was immediately available.

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