Teen victim killed in hit-and-run remembered as 'a light in the darkest days'

When Zabbie Safari first met Ibaad Yar, it wasn't on friendly terms.

"Actually, we met in Grade 3, in an altercation. We were going to get into a fight, actually," Safari said. "But then I remember him telling me he was Afghan, and I'm Afghan.

"And I don't know. We just got really close after that."

Like most childhood altercations, Safari can't remember why he butted heads with Yar, who would quickly become his best friend.

He can just remember how they soon discovered they shared interests and a sense of humour and would laugh at the same types of jokes.

Safari spent hours upon hours with Yar, hanging out, playing basketball and goofing around. It was a close friendship that lasted years, until Yar was suddenly killed in a fatal hit-and-run in northeast Calgary early Wednesday morning.

According to Calgary police, a Buick Allure travelling at a high rate of speed hit the rear of a Dodge Journey around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Yar was ejected from the vehicle. He died at the scene.

Police said one of the two involved vehicles fled the scene. Investigators have said they believe road rage was a factor in the collision.

The crash sent two others, both male, to the Alberta Children's Hospital. Calgary police arrested three people in connection with the incident, but they were later released without charges.

Aasma Yar, Ibaad's sister, said she saw her brother a couple hours before he died.

"Ibaad will forever be a light in the darkest days. A personality like that does not come easy," she told CBC News. "When we buried him today, it didn't feel real … I did not think for a second I'd be burying my baby brother."

'He just wanted to make you laugh'

Safari said Yar was always joking around, no matter how dire a situation was. He remembers group video chats on FaceTime, where Yar was always the life of the party.

"Everyone else would be tired or whatever, but he'd just be goofing around and trying to make us laugh or try to make us have a better day," Safari said.

Yar talked about becoming a police officer after high school and one day buying his own apartment.

Safari said he thought Yar would want to be remembered as everybody's friend, someone who made everyone laugh.

"I remember him just as Ibaad. One of a kind," Safari said. "He was the most down to earth guy you'll ever meet. He'd always be so straightforward, but so honest and kind at the same time.

"He was just Ibaad, you know. He just made you laugh."