Family of Noorvik man killed in East Anchorage hit-and-run asks for help finding driver

A Noorvik man was killed on Muldoon Road Saturday night by a driver who fled the scene, Anchorage police and the man's family said.

The collision happened at Muldoon Road and Fifth Avenue and was first reported at around 8:40 p.m. Saturday when other drivers called 911.

The man hit was declared dead at the scene by police.

Police are looking for a driver who left the scene in a light-colored SUV with "bicycle-spoke rims." No other details about the suspect vehicle were available Sunday night, said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Nora Morse.

The victim's family identified him Sunday night as Brian Dan Ballot. He was 49.

Ballot was from the Northwest Arctic village of Noorvik, said his niece Nichole Daniels.

She said her uncle was a funny and loving member of a large family. He was the last surviving son of five boys and also had four sisters, she said.

Ballot had  most recently worked at a fish cannery in Kotzebue but had come to Anchorage about three months ago to spend time with his mother and other family members, Daniels said. He had two sons of his own, she said.

In Anchorage, he walked or rode a bike everywhere. He was hard of hearing, Daniels said.

"He was really deaf," she said. "We don't know if the accident had to do with him not hearing the car or people honking."

Daniels said her family knows little about what happened beyond what police have released publicly.

It wasn't clear whether the victim was trying to cross the road. A video shared on Facebook by a bystander shows a police officer kneeling over a man in the street wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans.

Daniels said she's gotten messages on Facebook from people who were at the scene.

"There were people there helping him, being in his presence," she said.

Ballot's older sister said the family wants the driver to turn his or herself in.

"We need justice," said Harriet Ballot through tears Sunday night. "He's loved so much in our family."

* Correction: A previous version of this story identified Noorvik as a North Slope village. It is in the Northwest Arctic.