A North County community is mourning the loss of a teacher who died of his injuries suffered in a hit-and-run in Tijuana last February.
"I hope he is better, that he is no longer suffering and that he can breathe," said Rosalba Jaime, wife of teacher Ramón Jaime. "And thank you very much [Ramón] for everything. Thank you for all the happiness you gave us."
Jaime was a Spanish teacher at San Pasqual High School in Escondido where he had been working for 18 years.
Last February, Jaime went to visit relatives in Tijuana, and when driving back to San Diego, suffered a flat tire near the San Ysidro Point of Entry. When Jaime got out of his car to check it out, he was hit by a driver, who fled the scene.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
"Suddenly, I felt a blow to the back of the head and there I lost consciousness," the teacher said days after the accident when he was hospitalized at UC San Diego Health in Hillcrest.
At that time he told Telemundo 20 that he was looking forward to recovering. He could barely speak. It was difficult for him to breathe and he also said that there was very little hope of having mobility in his body again because the impact of the car left him with several broken bones in his spine, his right leg, and even a fracture in his skull, wounds that days ago ended his life.
"He was hospitalized for two months, from February 17 to April 21," Rosalba Jaime told Telemundo 20.
His death left a void in his family and in his students.
Last Sunday, his loved ones, students, and co-workers held an event to remember him. They also adorned San Pasqual high school with flowers and photographs of the father who was described as a lover of red pozole and tamales.
"The students made these paper flowers to decorate the entrance," said Margarita Vargas, the teacher's sister-in-law.
Before his passing, the walls of his hospital room were upholstered with letters and messages of appreciation from his students. Now, the only memories that remain are photos.
"My dad was cheerful and funny," Yoli Jaime said.
His only daughter described him as a positive person as she keeps the last photo she and her parents took together and hugging, as they often did.
Now, the family is planning to take his remains to Tijuana. To cover funeral expenses, they created a GoFundMe account.
Jaime was 56.
Telemundo 20 contacted the Tijuana Police, who said that the suspect has not been arrested yet. Anyone who has information is asked to contact the Tijuana police.
