The RCMP is searching for the driver of a vehicle after a 54-year-old Cape Breton man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run incident near Sydney.

Police responded to the collision on Highway 125, near Exit 8, in Mira Road, N.S. around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Police say the man was on the highway when he was struck by a passing vehicle that failed to stop. He was taken to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

His identity has not been released.

“Not a good road to be crossing on,” said Cpl. Glynis Thomas of Nova Scotia RCMP Traffic Services. “It's a 100 km/h road. People driving would certainly not be expecting to have someone crossing the highway there.”

Police say it’s possible the person who was driving the vehicle didn’t realize who, or what, they hit as the stretch of highway is long and dark.

They are now searching for the driver of the vehicle, described as a grey Volkswagen.

“The vehicle would have damage down the passenger side, the mirror missing, and other parts missing off of it,” said Thomas. “It’s something people can be looking for.”

Police are asking the driver, or anyone with information about the incident, to come forward.

The westbound section of highway between exits 7 and 8 was temporarily shut down Saturday evening. It reopened to traffic Sunday morning.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore