Abbotsford Radio Host Struck & Killed by Car

The 19-year-old pedestrian who died after being struck by a vehicle Thursday night in Abbotsford has been identified as Dakota Leslie.

Tributes to Leslie are being posted across social media, including from Abbotsford’s CIVL Radio, which is based at University of the Fraser Valley in building C.

The Facebook page for the show states that they will do a special show tomorrow (Saturday) from 5 to 6 p.m. dedicated to Leslie.

The studio will be open for anyone who would like to say a few words about him, the page indicates.

Leslie’s co-host Andy Lee said Leslie was “the greatest friend and show host I could ever ask for.”

“From talking to him extensively on and off the air, he would have wanted all of us to forge ahead no matter what happens. He taught me to have patience and compassion, for he lived by his heart while I lived by what my brain told me,” posted Lee, who left the station earlier this week to continue his studies on the east coast.

CIVL station manager Aaron Levy told The News that Leslie was “one of the youngest and most enthusiastic volunteers at CIVL,” and the station is in shock over his passing.

“You can recruit to the ends of the world, but you can’t solicit, train or learn the kind of creativity, excitement and sense of community that Dakota is already being remembered and missed for,” Levy said. 

He said the station extends its love to all of Leslie’s friends and family.

Leslie, the youngest of four siblings, was a 2014 graduate of Abbotsford Senior Secondary and was also a volunteer for the Excalibur Party, which had candidates running in Abbotsford and Mission in the 2013 provincial election.

A friend of the Leslie family has set up a fundraising page on the GoFundMe website to raise money for Leslie’s funeral.

The page explains that the family has endured several losses in the last eight months – including the deaths of Leslie’s uncle and grandmother – and has also faced some financial burdens.

“This fund will help make it possible to give Dakota the memorial he deserves,” the page states, adding that the fund will also help with the remaining costs from the losses of other family members.

The page can be accessed at www.gofundme.com/t2jwbs.

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