Motorcyclist who died in hit-and-run in Dormont will be remembered as a talented musician and good friend

DORMONT, Pa. (KDKA) – Family and friends of a man killed in a hit-and-run crash in Dormont over the weekend are remembering the victim as a kind and creative person.

Christian Sluka died Saturday after being struck by a motorist near the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and West Liberty Avenue in Dormont shortly before 11 p.m.

According to people who knew him, 23-year-old Sluka was a lovely young man, a talented musician and a good friend.

“He was the best person I ever knew in my life and my greatest role model,” said the victim's cousin, Noah Goisse.

These are the words of a heartbroken Goisse, who said his cousin was so much more than just the victim of a terrible accident.

“His family had been struggling for a long time,” Goisse said. “And as the older brother of three siblings, he really had to pick up the pieces and show them what kind of man they should be.”

Sluka was killed when police say he was hit by Saul Rivera-Ramirez, driving a Ford Taurus. According to sources, Rivera-Ramirez is an undocumented worker.

According to the prosecution, he abandoned the car after the accident and left the scene on foot with his wife and two children. Sluka was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where he died. Sluka's funeral is pending.

For Goisse, Sluka's life ended in tragedy, but what matters most is the way he lived, including his gift for music.

“I have never met or played with anyone in my life who had such an interesting sense of music and understood art in such a complex and beautiful way as he did. You could tell it came from his soul,” said Goisse.

Rivera-Ramirez is being held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail and faces several charges, including manslaughter with a motor vehicle.

The last time Goisse saw his friend was Saturday night, when Sluka rode away into the night on his motorcycle.

“As I was walking down the street with some friends, he drove by, honked, waved and that was the last I saw of him,” he said.