Posted at the entrance of their restaurant in north Salisbury, the Lin was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver who left the scene of an accident that killed Colin Lin. The offer has since been withdrawn.

Lin Family Photo

Colin Lin was the big brother his little sister adored.

“I followed him around everywhere. He was my favorite person in the world. We were always cracking up when we were around each other. We had a very close relationship,” the 28-year-old Lewes resident said, her voice breaking with emotion, as she talked about her brother, a year older, who was killed early last week when he was struck by a vehicle as he crossed North Salisbury Boulevard on an Apollo motorized scooter.

He had been at Wawa across the street with his girlfriend and friends, all who wanted snacks, before riding back toward his family’s restaurant, Tokyo Steakhouse, around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16.

“He was hanging out with his friends and they were hungry so they went to Wawa. He went with his girlfriend and another friend to pick up some food. He left them behind and he went back first. He was heading home. Home is very close. He was crossing the street. He went the longer way. Instead of waiting for the red light at the crosswalk, he went to the yield sign and crossed the street.

“He was very close to making it back to the restaurant. I’m not sure where he was in the street,” his sister said, adding the scooter “was all lit up” and that Lin had added extra lights around the bottom so it was easy to see.

“He was very responsible. He was so good with the road. He had a little electric scooter when he was younger. He has always been comfortable with  these things,” she said.

Lin’s girlfriend, unaware of the accident, left Wawa and headed back to look for him in the restaurant and at his home. When she couldn’t find him, she realized the gathering of police and emergency vehicles was because he had been hit.

Police notified the family, including their father, Jie Lin.

Mimi Lin had just arrived in Croatia, where she was planning to take a vacation, when her 17-year-old brother called and told her the tragic news. She immediately went home, as did another brother who was in Budapest.

Maryland State Police issued a news release stating Lin, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was trying to cross Route 13 north from a center median crossover near Oliphant Street.

Police said investigators believe he traveled into lane No. 3, where he was hit by a commercial vehicle that was not pulling a trailer. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-749-3101.

After business on Saturday, Aug. 20, Tokyo Steakhouse closed indefinitely. Colin Lin was the core of that restaurant, his sister said quietly.

The family also owns a restaurant in Lewes, as well as Chinatown Buffet, also on North Salisbury Boulevard.

Late last week, Mimi Lin said the family was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver who left the scene, but later told the Salisbury Independent it was withdrawn because the family feared it would attract “the wrong crowd.”

The last time Mimi Lin talked to her brother, the second-oldest in a family of six children, they discussed a birthday gift for his girlfriend.

“He was the best brother. He was a lot of people’s favorite person. Very, very well loved and he knew it,” she said with a slight laugh.

“He was the best of all of us. He had the best personality. He was very cool. A lot of people wanted to be just like him. People loved to follow him around. People loved to be with him. He was always the funny one. He loved to laugh and he always knew what to say to make people feel good,” she said.

“We were all very close. He loved fishing.  He always went with our dad on little fishing trips. He’s a very passionate person,” his sister said, talking about him in present tense.

“I talked to him all the time. Colin was the most loved and the favorite of everyone. No one was jealous of that. He was everyone’s favorite. He was the one who, whenever any of us had an issue, we would speak to him and he would talk to our father.

“He always knew how to talk to everyone to make everyone feel good. He was very understanding. He was the one who always hung out with my dad. He was so similar to my dad. My dad is a very strong man.  He has always been the one to steer the family but he is definitely devastated,” she said.

“We’re very much focused on the investigation and finding justice for him. We are hoping people can come forward and provide some information,  anybody who saw anything, or admit to this,” she said.