SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Loved ones are grieving the loss of a Linda Vista man, struck and killed while changing his tire along Interstate 805 last week.
“There’s a huge part of me, very heavy, very sad and missing the person that I married,” said Yajaira Nunez.
A week later, Nunez says she's still in shock after the death of her ex-husband, Ever Peraza, 31.
“There’s so much disbelief in how we all lost him,” said Nunez.
Just after 3 a.m. last Thursday, Peraza found himself on I-805, just north of Adams Avenue, with a blown tire.
According to the CHP, he stopped on the right shoulder, his car partway in the slow lane. He was changing the tire when he was struck. Peraza died on impact.
The 22-year-old driver who hit him remained at the scene. Alcohol and drugs are not suspected. He was not arrested.
“I don’t think anybody deserves to go like that. It’s hard to process,” said Nunez.
Nunez, whose divorce was finalized earlier this year, says the two remained close.
“He was very kindhearted, funny. Definitely a jokester, a foodie,” said Nunez.
Nunez says the day before he died, she got a voicemail from a happy Peraza. After many months of struggling with part-time jobs, he landed a janitorial job with UCSD Health.
“This was full-time, benefits. He was super excited, ready to keep moving forward … It’s so heartbreaking because he was beginning a new chapter in his life,” said Peraza.
That excitement has been replaced by grief and a final wish.
Nunez says Peraza had always said that if he passed away, he wanted to be next to his mother, who passed away when he was young.
“He was adopted, so his mom technically was his saving grace. He remembers being very loved, very cared for,” said Peraza.
Nunez started a Gofundme campaign to help send his body to El Salvador to be buried.
“Getting him back there, I think, will give him some peace,” said Nunez.
