JERSEY CITY - Umar King had a big heart, vibrant personality and loved basketball, especially his idol, LeBron James.

But on Wednesday night, his family and friends were still trying to piece together how the 33-year-old, who was deaf and volunteered as a sign language teacher at the Bethune Center, could die such a violent death.

King was on his way home from his overnight job at FedEx on Tuesday morning when he was struck by a stolen SUV that was being chased by Hudson County Sheriff's officers on Kennedy Boulevard. He had just gotten off the No. 1 bus and was waiting to catch a southbound No. 10 bus home.

The SUV plowed through the bus stop, throwing King down the block. The teens allegedly responsible ran right by King's body on the sidewalk. They have yet to be apprehended.

"I just don't really know how to feel right now," his younger brother Raheem said tonight before a vigil at the spot where King was killed. "I lost a brother, my only brother."

Raheem King said he cried watching the graphic video of his brother's death. The crash happened so fast, but the fact that his brother was deaf and would not be able to hear police pursing the stolen SUV meant it would be even harder for King to react, he said.

"I miss him a lot. I love him," Raheem King said. "I feel bad. I know he felt scared and alone, to get hit like that. I know he felt alone and by himself, like nobody was there."

His brother and many of his friends from the deaf community are calling on the two teens authorities are searching for to turn themselves in to police.

"Angry, hurt, cruel," his friend Thyson Halley said. "How do you do something like that?"

Lit candles were set up against a rose-pinned fence at the Exxon station near where King died. A child's painting of a rainbow was left at the growing memorial with the message "for Umar King rip we will always miss you."

His friends said King traveled often for church and deaf community conventions. He loved attending basketball games.

Officials said on Tuesday afternoon that a 16-year-old boy was brought into custody after the crash, but it remains unclear if he was arrested. Charges have not been announced against him.

At least one of the teens who is believed to have fled the scene has been identified by authorities, according to a private memo from the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office that was obtained by a Facebook user and posted on social media. The memo says he is 17 years old and has a tattoo on his arm.

The Jersey Journal is not publishing his name because he is a minor. Asked about the "wanted" flier, a spokesman said the crash remains under investigation.

King leaves behind his 9-year-old daughter, Umia, who was named after her father and lives in Mississippi. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.