“She just cared so much. She had so much love to give.”
That’s how Suvant Shahi described his grandmother Goma Pokharel.
The Clairemont man said the 67-year-old died Sunday night when a truck hit and killed her while she was out taking her daily evening walk. He said the driver of the truck didn’t stick around.
“These people were just reckless,” Shahi said.
San Diego police confirmed they would like to speak to the driver of a large dark-colored Dodge Ram that was recorded by a Ring home-security camera Sunday evening. Shahi said the video shows a woman pop out from behind the wheel of the truck and look at Pokharel’s body on Ashford Street. He said the driver then returned to the cab, a male passenger got into the driver’s seat, and the truck drove away before emergency responders arrived.
“You just kind of feel guilty because maybe if she had gone back [home] earlier,” sighed Shahi.
Shahi said Pokharel, his family’s matriarch, was visiting her family in Clairemont. She has three children and seven grandchildren.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed her return to Nepal. Shahi decided to stay even longer when her family was expected to get even bigger.
“We finally announced to all our family members that my girlfriend was pregnant," Shahi said. "So, she decided to stay until Aug. 20."
Melissa Palermo’s baby boy would have been Goma Pokharel’s first great-grandchild.
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“There’s no words to describe the feeling of losing a loved one,” Palermo said. “There was a language barrier between me and her, but she never once made me feel uncomfortable. She was my grandma too.”
“We didn’t get that release,” said a frustrated Shahi. “We didn’t get to see her by the bedside. It wasn’t peaceful. She was hit by a truck.”
San Diego police confirmed with NBC 7 that they are looking for the truck and its drivers. Anybody with information about the case is being urged to call the San Diego police.
