EXCLUSIVE: Husband speaks out after wife fatally struck by car in Pittsburg

ByTiffany Wilson KGO logo
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: Husband speaks out after wife fatally struck in Pittsburg
A reckless driver who police say shouldn't even have been on the road killed a Pittsburg mom. Her husband opened up about their lives together.

PITTSBURG, Calif. (KGO) -- A reckless driver who police say shouldn't even have been on the road killed a Pittsburg mom. Her husband opened up about their lives together. They had just retired.

Linda Cochran's husband is devastated. He never thought Linda's morning walk yesterday was the last time he would see her.

RELATED: Woman taking morning walk struck, killed by car in Pittsburg

Jay Cochran says the walk was Linda's daily pause from the full-time care she provided for her two disabled sons. The 65-year-old followed her typical route down west Leland Road toward the Delta View golf course.

Police had just eased up from chasing a black Camaro when it hit her. The driver has been identified by police as 26-year-old Aroldo Vela-Chavez of Concord. Police say Vela-Chavez then crashed through a fence and ran away. Officers caught him and he's now in jail charged with murder.

Jay says he loved his wife with all his heart.

"When you think about a mother, she's the heart and soul. And my wife under constant pressure, from work and from Joel and Jonah and the rest of the family, always, always was caring about everyone else, and then her. And she's going to be very much missed," said Jay.

The couple just retired January of this year. They dreamed about how they would spend their golden years.

"Had a whole bunch of plans for traveling, fixing our yard and other things," Jay said.

Vela-Chavez has a suspended license and prior drunk driving arrest. Cochran's husband says he will see him in court.

Police say it's the third time a speeding car has crashed along that same stretch of West Leland Road and driven into the golf course. This time the consequences were deadly.

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