Tellyaddict / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Six weeks after 21-year-old Nate La Belle was struck and killed while riding an electric scooter in East Toledo, the driver who hit him is still at large — and Toledo police are now turning to the public for tips.

La Belle, a young father of a 1-year-old daughter, was riding a Veo electric scooter southbound on Main Street between 2nd and 4th Streets when he was hit around 1:16 a.m. on Sept. 20. The driver fled the scene.

Police initially suspected Heladio Contreras, whose green Dodge Challenger crashed nearby that same night. But surveillance video from a Main Street market showed there were two separate crashes: Contreras lost control in heavy rain and struck a pole — and panicked when bystanders blamed him for the hit-and-run. The clearance, first reported by WTOL 11 Investigates on Oct. 23, is newly reported here on toledobuzz.com.

The Fostoria Free Press has more on the video clearance and the ongoing search for La Belle’s killer.

Police now describe the actual suspect vehicle only as a dark blue or black four-door sedan. No arrests have been made, and the driver remains unidentified.

Family and friends have held a candlelight vigil to remember La Belle, remembered as a devoted young father.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.