A San Diego community is in shock after learning that their father, brother and friend was killed in a wrong-way crash Saturday morning.
Anteneh T. Minassie, 42, was driving his cab on Interstate 5 near Washington Street when he was struck by a wrong-way driver. When he got out of his taxi, investigators say he was hit many times by oncoming traffic.
"I still haven't believed that it actually happened. I can't -- I can't comprehend it,” said Anteneh’s soft-spoken brother, Seyoum Minassie.
Mourners gathered at Anteneh’s Skyline home Saturday to support the wife and three children he leaves behind.
"I wish that day -- like, the day that the accident happened -- could be, like, erased from memory, erased from the calendar. I wish there could be, like, a different day,” said Seyoum.
Those around the home remembered Anteneh as a kind, loving man who never said a bad word or judgmental phrase.
The hard-working, dedicated man had been driving a cab for about four years, Seyoum said.
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Among the mourners was Anteneh’s pastor, Melaku Mekuria of Maranatha Ethiopian Christian Fellowship.
“[He was] so very quiet and humble and peaceful. That's why his wife cannot even talk now. She's in shock," said Mekuria.
The pastor told NBC 7 that Anteneh had a heart for kids, working for the church in the children’s ministry.
And the children he loved most were his 8-year-old son and 6 and 4-year-old daughters.
"I wish that the person who [did] this really understands, like, the thing [she] has done to the family; how [she] brings tragedy to our lives, to the community, to the children," said Seyoum.
Seyoum added that their faith in God is helping the family get through this tragedy, and he hopes the person who caused the crash would think about God and ask him for forgiveness.
"[Anteneh] was just a healthy guy, peaceful, and he went to work and he couldn't come back home. So it's just unbelievable," said Mekuria.
The church will hold a memorial service for Anteneh, but a date has not been set.
