Updated: Fri Jul. 03 2009 20:15:43

ctvbc.ca

Friends of the Burnaby businessman who was killed Thursday morning say he was run down while trying to stop a thief - and police are asking the public to help identify the driver.

Investigators say 60-year-old Alberto Morgadinho was killed around 10:00 a.m. July 2, after an altercation with the driver of a red van.

"I guess he was on the vehicle," Morgadinho's friend Stephen Beattie said Friday. "You can see skid marks, they were trying to shake him off."

"That's when they sped up the street and he must have let go, and that was the end of it."

Investigators have yet to confirm his suspicions, but Beattie says Morgadinho had some large copper tubes stolen from his business last week.

Police are looking for the suspect vehicle, described as an older model Ford Econoline van, with a temporary operating permit and license plates - and the driver may be a repeat offender.

Surveillance photos from a separate robbery on June 14 have been released, and the van used is strikingly similar to the vehicle described in Thursday's incident.

Police are asking anyone who sees the suspect vehicle to contact 604-306-1832.

Grieving family pleads for justice

Meanwhile, Mogadinho's children are struggling to come to terms with the heartbreaking death of their father.

"His work and his family were number one for him," daughter Sonia Mogadinho-Hartwell said. "He had four beautiful grandchildren, who unfortunately won't get to know him because they are all so young."

The family is hoping a witness will come forward with information.

"If anyone knows anything, if anyone saw anything, to please, just report it and help us come to some justice for our family," Morgadinho's daugher said.

"We need closure."

Morgadinho's last moments

Beattie's wife was working next door to Morgainho's business Thursday morning when she heard shouting.

By the time she ran outside to see what happened, Morganinho was at the side of the road, dying.

"She knelt down and rubbed his leg, told him to hang on while she phone 911," Beattie said.

"The beauty of it is supposedly your hearing is the last to go, so he knew someone was there. That must have been comforting."

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry