Family of Windsor man killed in N.Y. hit-and-run begs for suspect to come forward

The family of a 24-year-old Windsor man who was struck by a vehicle and killed in Rochester, N.Y. over the weekend is still mourning his death and is calling for the driver who fled the scene to turn themselves into police.

Anthony Trayner was attending a friend’s wedding in Rochester over the weekend.

Around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, Trayner was trying to help a friend who was in the roadway known as the “inner-loop” in downtown Rochester, according to his family. It was at that moment when Trayner was struck by a car and killed.

“In true Anthony form, he spent his final moments trying to do the right thing and remove a friend from harm’s way. He will be immortalized as the hero we all knew him to be,” said a family friend, Tal Czudner.

While the family deals with the aftermath of the tragedy, they’re also looking for answers.

“You must give yourself into the Rochester Police Department,” said Trayner’s grandfather, Andre Blier. “Please, please, I beg you.”

The driver of the vehicle left the scene, according to New York State Police investigators, who are looking for a suspect. The service is asking anyone with information to call state police at 585-398-4100.

“Just give yourself up. Just get the courage and do it. Please,” he begged. “Anthony needs that and we all need that.”

Blier remembers his grandson as a great young man who had a life full of promise.

“This guy was an angel to us since he's born,” said Blier. “You'll never have closure.”

Trayner is a graduate of Holy Names Catholic High School and a huge fan of all Michigan sports.

After graduating high school, Trayner studied business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where he received and advocated for services at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Blier says Trayner was an avid volunteer, a world traveller and a life-long learner who always had his nose buried in a book, looking to understand what makes the world tick.

“That was his intention by travelling and he was just feeding his brain with all this, this knowledge,” Blier said.

He recently landed a job back home with the Windsor Family Credit Union.

“Somebody gave him a chance to be what he wanted to be and he was just starting at it,” said Blier, who added the family is dealing with a tremendous amount of shock and grief with Trayner’s sudden passing.

“You get this call coming in a few days later that your grandson doesn't exist anymore,” Blier said. “He's gone off the earth. So it's a shock.”

Anthony, who was partially deaf, also worked for Canadian Hearing Services as a summer student in 2016 and 2018.

“Our staff really enjoyed working with Anthony. They describe Anthony as very kind, talented and an excellent communicator,” said Michael Dawthorne, the director of programs and services operations at Canadian Hearing Services. “Our staff, in particular at our Windsor location, were very devastated by this tragic news. On behalf of Canadian Hearing Services, we offer our deepest sympathy to Anthony’s family.”

Funeral arrangements are still underway and will be made through Windsor Chapel’s Dougall location.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking mourners to consider a donation to Sgt. Pepper’s Friends, an animal rescue organization in Aruba that brought the family together with their dogs, Rolo and Truffle.