Thousands of people arrive at funeral for tow operator killed in Waukesha County hit-and-run

BRIDGEVIEW, ILL. (CBS 58) -- Thousands of people showed support for the family of a tow operator killed earlier this week after being hit by a minivan on I-94.

The sounds of a final prayer fill the halls of Mosque Foundation as friends and family honored 40-year-old Hussain Farhat’s life, one last time.

“The feeling is so sad. It's not easy,” said Mohmmad Eid, Farhat’s cousin.

On Dec. 24th, Farhat was helping a disabled vehicle on I-94 near Sawyer Road in Waukesha when he was hit and killed by a mini-van.

“We tried to call him, he didn’t respond,” said Eid.

The driver who struck Farhat turned himself in the next day.

“Struck a human being and just kept going,” said Ashraf Ziada, a cousin.

Farhat had immigrated from Palestine’s West Bank just three months earlier to work for his family’s towing company. He leaves behind two kids and a wife, who is nine months pregnant.

On Friday, more than 2,000 people arrived for Farhat's funeral. His face adorned numerous hoodies along with this message: slow down or move over. His death has impacted not only his family, but other tow operators across the nation.

“That means a lot to us and that’s a big support to come from them,” said Eid.

“I got a gang of guys that I wanna get home safely every day and get them home to their families,” said Mike Neilsen, a tow operator.

Nielsen, who works out of Joliet, Illinois, came to Farhat’s funeral to show his support as a fellow tow operator.

“You know, these guys are walking the huge lines and there’s not much room out there to do what they need to do get the road safe and move and it just helps if everyone slows down and moves over,” said Nielsen.

The call for Farhat’s final prayer, Neilsen says, is a tragic reminder to all drivers.

“Just need everybody to put the phones down, make sure they just get back to just driving,” said Nielsen.