Mother of man killed on Yolo road mourns son who ‘always tried to bring happiness’
The mother of the pedestrian who was struck and killed Saturday on a rural Yolo County road identified the man as 29-year-old Nai Poo Saechao Jr.
Christina Olson of El Dorado County remembered her son, the eldest of her five children, in a telephone interview with The Sacramento Bee and in a GoFundMe appeal established to defray cremation and interment expenses. He was a caring son and older brother, she said, who loved his siblings even as he was challenged by mental health issues.
“He loved Oreo cookies, spicy Asian noodles, and dogs, and he cherished his younger siblings deeply,” Olson wrote. “Despite his mental health struggles, he always tried to bring happiness to those he loved. Losing him has left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.”
Saechao was walking along County Road 99 West near County Road 12, halfway between the towns of Dunnigan and Yolo, about 8:43 p.m. Saturday when he was struck by a Dodge pickup truck, said officials in the California Highway Patrol’s Woodland office. He died at the scene. It’s not known why he was walking along the road.
The driver of the Dodge pickup remained at the scene and cooperated with officers. Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash, CHP officials said.
In a phone call with The Bee, Olson said she wanted people to know her son’s name. Saechao’s name had not yet been released by Yolo County coroner’s officials.
“He had a name,” Olson said, thinking back to what she imagined were her son’s final moments. “He would’ve been 30 this year. My baby is gone forever. It’s a vision that’s going to be with me for a lifetime.”
Services are planned for March 7 in Placerville.
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