SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Loved ones making an emotional appeal for answers, after a 53-year-old man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, just off the I-805 in Serra Mesa.
In video shot by ABC 10News Breaking News Tracker Paul Andregg from two weeks ago, car parts are spread across an on-ramp, past 9 p.m.
At a Linda Vista home that night, a family's collective heart was shattered.
“You feel incomplete. All of a sudden, there’s a part of you that's missing,” said Abieselom Ghebru.
Abieselom remembers being frozen by news of the death of brother, Jonathan Ghebru.
According to the CHP, Ghebru's body was found in the lanes of the Kearny Villa Road on-ramp to I-805 North. They say the driver who struck him took off.
“It was a shock. Stunned. Frozen in the moment,” said Abieselom.
Abieselom says his brother, along with the rest of the family, originally from East Africa, immigrated to San Diego in 1985.
His brother had a talent for fixing electronics. He was social, with a big heart.
“He was somebody people wanted to be around,” said Abieselom.
Ghebru also battled mental health and substance abuse issues, and had been living on the streets for much of the past decade. Abieselom believes on that Tuesday night, his brother was likely headed to a nearby shelter in Kearny Mesa, when he was struck and killed.
’It was cowardly, inhumane, a selfish act. More worried about yourself than the fact that you hit someone. I see guilt … You can’t just hit someone and take off like nothing happened. That's a human being,” said Abieselom.
Abieselom hopes sharing his family's story will lead to a tip and an arrest. He has this message for the driver.
“I can't forgive you if you don’t come clean … I want to see his face, because I want him to see me. When he sees me, he'll see my brother … Jonathan was my brother. He had value, and you just drove off,” said an emotional Abieselom.
The cause and other details of the crash are still under investigation. Anyone who witnessed or has information on the collision is encouraged to call CHP San Diego at 858-293-6000.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.
