8 years after fatal hit and run, Winnipeg police and family call for help to solve case
Cody Joss died after he was hit by vehicle on Inkster Boulevard and McGregor Street in 2014
Eight years after a 21-year-old man was killed in Winnipeg in a hit and run, his father is pleading with the public for help to bring justice for his son.
Cody Joss, 21, was walking north on Inkster Boulevard at McGregor Street around 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2014, when he was hit by a westbound vehicle. He died of his injuries in hospital.
Cody's father Kevin Joss begged the public for tips to help move the investigation forward.
"We need to know what went on and we need to start healing ... Please folks, I beg of you," Kevin said at a police news conference on Thursday.
He says news of similar collisions where the driver left the scene is retraumatizing to his family.
"Every time someone else loses their life or is critically injured or leaves the scene, it sends such a ripple effect through to this family and to others that are going through the same things we have," Kevin said.
Const. Aaron Staples with the traffic division says police have exhausted all investigative avenues. They haven't been able to find any footage of the collision and no witnesses have come forward.
Police are calling for anyone who may have been present at the time of the collision or may have dash camera footage to come forward.
"If there is any information of anybody who may have been in the area or been present at the time that could have a link for our investigators that would help us piece this together, it could make all the difference in the world for family," Staples said.
The officer said 2022 has been a "terrible" year for car crash deaths and serious injuries, with 41 taking place in the city — well above the five-year average of 29.8, police data suggests.
Of those, 19 involved pedestrians, 12 of whom died.
There were eight hit and runs in the city that year, police say.
"A number have been linked to dangerous driving behaviours, whether that be impaired or suspected impaired, speeding, distracted driving, those have all played factors in our collisions," Staples said.
Kevin took the opportunity to remind people to make good choices before getting behind the wheel.
"Everything that you do has a ripple effect on everybody else. The thought of the next person that's going to lose their life to an accident that could have been prevented by making the right choice — it's enough to make us tear up," Kevin said.
"Take a look at your loved ones and think, it can happen to you. Everybody thinks it can't happen to me. I stand before you to tell you it happened to us."
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 204-986-7085 or Crimestoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
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