Childhood Friend Remembers Mother Killed in Crash as ‘Smiling, Joyful’

“A breath of fresh air, happy, smiling, joyful” is how Judy Suong-Tuyet Bui’s childhood friend, Sarah Poce, describes her.

Bui was killed Friday morning when she collided with another car while driving through the intersection of Calle Cristobal and Caminito Propico just outside of her neighborhood.

Poce said she was at work when she heard what had happened on the news. After hearing the victim was a 26-year-old mother of a four-year-old in Mira Mesa she guessed it might be Bui. “Mira Mesa’s a small town,” she explained.

“I didn’t believe it,” she said while sitting on the ground by Bui’s growing memorial at the intersection. “I couldn’t believe it could be her or her son on the way to school. She woke up, normal day, got her son ready for school and that’s what went through my head,” she said holding back tears.

Poce said her death will leave a void in the community.

“She made a big impact on a lot of people’s lives, including mine, the children she brought into this world, her family, her parents, friends. She was definitely just a great friend that everybody looked to for advice, a smile, a laugh. She had great humor,” Poce told NBC 7.

Bui’s four-year-old son, who was in the car during the crash, is in the hospital for a fractured skull, a broken pelvis, ribs and knee. Bui also had a young daughter.