A family seeks justice in 20-year-old Cypress man's hit-and-run death before Christmas

CYPRESS, Texas (KTRK) -- Christmas will never be the same for a Cypress family after their 20-year-old son was killed in a hit-and-run crash two days after Thanksgiving.

Harris County Precinct 4 investigators said they're closing in on the driver, who has not been caught, and suggested he go ahead and turn himself in now.

Caleb Rickenbacher's loved ones said they'd like to see someone held responsible for his death, which happened right before his favorite holiday.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Suspect caught on video running away from stolen Jeep after deadly wrong-way crash, deputies say

"We're out here tonight celebrating his life" Caleb's dad, Gary Rickenbacher, said on Friday. Holiday lights, candles, and caroling were all in honor of the young man who was killed before Christmas.

"It's agonizing. No parent should ever have to go through this. He was our only child, but no parent should have to go through this," Melissa Rickenbacher, Caleb's mother, said.

Caleb died in a hit-and-run crash Nov. 19. Investigators said the driver was going the wrong way in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee when he hit Caleb and his girlfriend near the intersection of Cypress Rosehill Road and Huffmeister.

Instead of a head-on collision, Christina Diaz said he swerved to save her life. "He was a great person," she said, "He's not going to be just another forgotten soul."

Diaz has physically healed, but the emotional wounds are bare. Tight hugs comforted friends and family as they held onto the memories they have left.

"Every year, we've done big decorations outside our house. That's the last thing Caleb and I did together before he was hit," Caleb's dad said. "We started decorating outside of the house. So, we finished it and did it a little bigger this year."

It's a display that friends and neighbors helped out with this year to support Caleb's family through the joy and pain of the holidays. His mother said he would be missed and won't be forgotten.

"We don't want him forgotten. We want our son to be remembered. We don't want him forgotten. He means something. He means something,"his mother said.

The Rickenbachers also have the support of Crime Stoppers Houston. They're offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible.

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