| The tormented family of a Sydney teenager have again appealed to the driver of truck which struck and killed their son to come forward after hosting a memorial party for his 18th birthday.
John Rozycki was changing a tyre on the Pacific Highway, 15km north of Bulahdelah, near Newcastle, at 3.50am (AEDT) on December 6, when he was struck and killed by a southbound truck that did not stop, police say.
His distraught father Jan Rozycki told a Sydney news conference that his university-bound son's friends gathered at his Burwood home on Australia Day - John's 18th birthday.
"Unfortunately yesterday his friends came for the party but we couldn't share this day with him," Mr Rozycki told reporters in his anguished appeal for the truck driver to come forward.
John's shattered mother Julitta joined the plea, flanked by his tearful sister Agnieszka.
Struggling to talk through their emotion, the pair also humbly asked the driver to come forward and for more information to help the troubled police investigation.
Detective Inspector Peter McKenna said it was unlikely the truck driver was unaware he had struck John.
John's friend, who saw the collision on the upgraded section of highway, told police the truck was a white prime mover, possibly a B-double truck.
Inspector McKenna said investigators had returned every day to the crash site since the collision, interviewing drivers of similar trucks while other investigators scan road cameras for the vehicle.
More than 1,800 trucks pass over that section of road each day, he said.
"The investigation has come to a point now where we believe it was appropriate to put this appeal out," Insp McKenna told reporters at the Rozycki's news conference.
"We are appealing for the driver of the truck involved in this collision to come forward."
Insp McKenna said the teenagers appeared to have acted correctly by turning on their car's hazard lights and changing the tyre in the breakdown lane of a straight section of separated dual carriageway.
Witnesses say the truck, which was travelling among other vehicles, had veered into the breakdown lane before the collision, he said.
John died at the scene of the collision. His friend was not injured.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Family plea for hit-run truck driver to come forward
JOHN ROZYCKI's birthday was always a double occasion for his family to celebrate. The university-bound teenager was born on Australia Day, and on Saturday would have turned 18.
Instead his friends gathered at his Burwood home to join his family in a memorial service honouring his life and mourning his loss in an unsolved hit-and-run accident on the Pacific Highway north of Bulahdelah last month.
In Sydney yesterday his grieving parents, Jan and Julitta, and tearful sister Agniesszka spoke of their devastation at his death as they joined police in a renewed appeal for the driver of the truck that struck him down - or anyone who might know the driver's identity - to come forward.
Police said it was unlikely the driver of the white prime mover, possibly a B-double, was unaware that he had struck John.
The teenager, a P-plate driver, was hit at 4am on December 6 by the south-bound truck while changing a tyre on his silver Subaru in a breakdown lane on the Pacific Highway 15 kilometres north of Bulahdelah.
A friend who was travelling with him witnessed the accident. In making an appeal for information at a news conference called by police in Sydney, Mr Rozycki said Australia Day should have been a joyous turning point for his son, who was bound for university. "Unfortunately yesterday his friends came for the party but we couldn't share this day with him."
Detective Inspector Peter McKenna said investigators had returned to the crash site every day since the accident, interviewing drivers of similar trucks, while other investigators scanned road cameras for the vehicle. More than 1800 trucks drove that section of road each day.
"The investigation has come to a point now where we believe it was appropriate to put this appeal out," Inspector McKenna said. "We are appealing for the driver of the truck involved in this collision to come forward."
He said the teenagers appeared to have acted correctly by turning on their car's hazard lights and changing the tyre in the breakdown lane.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Manning Great Lakes police on 6555 1299 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The Sydney Morning Herald
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