The mother of a 20-year-old man who was killed in a hit-and-run in Whitchurch-Stouffville on Tuesday morning says that she believes that her son was “alive and breathing” following the collision but was callously left to die alone on the roadside.

Police have said that they believe Daunte Thompson-Bruce was cycling southbound on Ninth Line near Bethesda Sideroad sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. when he was struck by a vehicle that then fled the scene. Friends have also told CTV News Toronto that Thompson-Bruce had spent the night at a friend’s house about a 20 minute bike ride north from where he was hit.

A passerby found Thompson-Bruce at the side of the road at around 6 a.m. and contacted authorities but he was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

“Dante was alive and breathing but couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t help himself but he could have been helped. To the motorist: how could you leave him to die?” Dante’s mother, Felicia Thompson, told reporters through tears at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. “This is the greatest fear any parent could know. Your baby you nurtured through life, your baby you had dreams and aspirations for is now hurt, alone and not knowing whether he would ever see his mom and dad, his two younger brothers and his sister again.”

Police have said that they collected evidence at the scene indicating that Thompson-Bruce was struck by a vehicle but they have not offered any sort of description of that vehicle at this point.

Felicia Thompson told reporters that her son was an “amazing kid.” She said that he had “a passion” for track and field in high school and was “always smiling.”

Though Thompson said that she is still struggling with “immense anger and rage” over the circumstances of her son’s death, she said that she chose to speak with the media in the hope that her voice would lead to tips from members of the public.

“To anyone within the reach of my voice make Dante now a part of your family. Pay attention to your neighbour’s car. If there is a car that all of a sudden has damage, call it in to the police. Auto shops, report any collisions you have been asked to fix and to the members of social media, share, share and share the news articles you see about my son,” she said.

Father urges suspect to turn themselves in

Felicia Thompson was joined by Dante’s father, Dwayne Bruce, for Wednesday’s press conference.

Bruce told reporters that his son was in his second semester of a business program at Seneca College at the time of his death and was in the process of looking for summer employment so he would have enough money to pay for tuition in the fall.

He said his son was a “tenacious” student who “kept at it” even in the face of challenges. He said the driver took away more than just his son, though.

“You took away a brother, a son, probably a father in the future,” he said, before trailing off. “You robbed a family of…sorry. We just can’t do this right now.”

Police release photo of bicycle

Police have released a photo of a SuperCycle Hooligan mountain bike, similar to the one Dante was riding, in the hopes that someone may have remembered seeing him travelling along Ninth Line prior to the crash.

Det. Rich Gaudet said that while there were no street lights in the area where the collision occurred, investigators are confident the driver knew that they hit something.

“Based on evidence we recovered we would believe that the driver would know that they struck something and we are urging that driver to come forward,” he said.

Gaudet said that police are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who was in the area early Monday morning and may have dashcam footage.

He said that investigators are also in the process of interviewing a number of witnesses.

“At this point we are keeping all investigative avenues open,” he said.

Friends of Thompson-Bruce have created a GOFundMe page to help raise funds to cover his funeral expenses. As of 3 p.m., nearly $7,000 had been raised.