The mother of a 16-year-old-girl left to die on the side of the road following a hit-and-run in Brampton over the weekend is begging anyone who knows anything to come forward.

“They just left her on the side of the road, what were they thinking?” asked Dianna Manan’s mother, Savi Lakeram, her voice cracking.

“I know that person is still out there and I want justice to be served.”

A driver found Manan lying in the eastbound lanes of Queen Street, just east of Cherrycrest Drive, in Brampton, around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, Peel police said.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

A Grade 11 student, Manan loved music, drawing — especially Disney characters — and kids, her mother said. The teen, a middle child among seven siblings, wanted to be a pediatrician, Lakeram said.

“We’re all grieving,” she said. “Especially me.”

“She was a sweet, loving person,” Lakeram added. “Her smile would just brighten up the whole room.”

Lakeram said her daughter had been picked up by friends at her grandmother’s house early Saturday morning. She added she doesn’t know why she was in Brampton late that night.

Peel police said in a release Tuesday that Manan may have spent time at a house party before she was hit, and that she may have left the party with someone.

Manan attended Aurora High School.

“York Region District School Board staff trained to support with tragic incidents will be available to provide support to students and staff,” principal George Voumvakis said in an email to students and parents.

“We want to ensure our community know that support is available if needed to help cope with the range of feelings that may be happening at this time,” the email reads.

Peel Police spokesperson Const. Danny Martini said the major collisions bureau is “still looking at the entire investigation” and are in contact with the family.

Police have not released information about the suspect vehicle in the hit-and-run. They are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward with information, and for anyone who was at the party and may remember seeing Manan to contact them.

Police are also interested in speaking to a male who was present at the scene of the collision and provided information to another witness. He is described as South Asian, late teens or early twenties with a slim build.

The rare decision to release the name and photo of a hit-and-run victim has brought added attention to the case, as some safe streets advocates have called for harsher penalties for drivers who flee the scene.

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Hit-and-runs “should be unthinkable” said Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of the non-profit 8 80 Cities. Someone who hits a pedestrian or cyclist could administer first aid, call 911 or even just hold the hand of the victim, instead of leaving “as if they run over a rat, and they don’t care,” he said.

Lakeram is left trying to pick up the pieces. Waiting for the autopsy results, and trying to “stay strong.”

“I’m trying,” she said. “She’s not coming back.”

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