Homicide investigators in Metro Vancouver are urging a hit-and-run driver to come forward -- in hopes of clearing that person of a much more serious crime.

RCMP say a hit-and-run crash at Highway 10 and 176th Street in Surrey on Sunday night may be linked to a double shooting just minutes earlier at a Cloverdale hotel.

They would like to speak to the driver of the smaller, dark-coloured two-door car so they can rule out any connection.

Thirty-four-year-old Christopher Roy Whitmee of Surrey -- who is not known to police -- died in the attack at the Legacy Show Lounge, while a 28-year-old Surrey man was critically injured.

Investigators say one of the two may have been an innocent victim of what appears to be a targeted hit, but they say it could take days or weeks to confirm that.