Gas station attendant killed by fleeing SUV identified
Posted September 16, 2012 7:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto police have identified the victim and now say a suspect is wanted for murder after a gas station attendant was killed Saturday as a driver fled without paying.
Max Edwin Tutiven, 39, of Toronto is wanted for second-degree murder. Police believe he may be in Montreal. Tutiven was initially identified as a person of interest in the investigation on Sunday.
Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, police say the man drove up to the Shell station at Marlee and Roselawn avenues and filled his tank with $112.85 in fuel.
It’s alleged he then jumped in his car and drove away, hitting the employee and dragging him before heading west on Roselawn.
The attendant, Jayesh Prajapati, 44, was taken to hospital and died.
Tutiven is described as white, with a dark complexion, 5’5″, 220-230 lbs., with dark-brown hair. He was last seen wearing a three-quarter-length jacket, grey pants and black shoes.
Police believe he is driving a 2000-2003, silver or beige, four-door Isuzu Rodeo. The vehicle may have stolen plates attached to it.
The vehicle likely has front-end damage.
Police announced the updated charge at a news conference on Monday, which can be viewed below.
The victim’s family told CityNews they are shattered by his death. His wife said she will not be able to live without him.
“He was a gem of a person. I don’t know what to say,” Hemant Kumar, the victim’s brother-in-law told CityNews. “It’s a big setback for us, for our family.”
His family said the reason Prajapati went after the suspect is because he would have had to pay for at least part of the theft.
“That (is the) sort of pressure he was working under. That for $100 he risked his life,” said Kumar.
In a statement released on Sunday, Shell said their top priority was the safety of staff and customers and under no circumstance are employees to intervene during criminal activity.
However, MPP Mike Colle told CityNews workers having to pay for thefts is standard practice in the industry.
“It just makes these hardworking attendants who are usually working at night vulnerable and very very unsafe because all of a sudden there goes day’s wages,” Colle explained.
He said a safer option would be to implement a practice of having customers pay before they pump their gas.
A prayer vigil for Prajapati was held Monday evening.
In May 2011, Hashem Atifeh Rad, 62, a Mississauga gas station attendant, was killed in a similar situation. A suspect was arrested in that case last October.
