An Iranian-Jewish woman from Reseda who was severely injured in a hit-and-run car accident in Somis, Calif., on March 17, has died.
The woman was identified as 75-year-old Lily Bakhshi Elghanayan. She was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center but succumbed to a traumatic brain injury two days later.
Elghanayan was driving on Highway 118, near Walnut Avenue, on her way to visit her 31-year-old daughter, Daniella Alkobi, and her husband, Sagi, at their new Ventura County home when the two-car accident took place.
”I always knew I would lose my mom one day, but not now, and not like this,” Alkobi told the Journal in a telephone interview.
She described Elghanayan as a pillar of the Iranian-Jewish community, whom she said she’ll remember for her unparalleled Persian cooking, her compassion for those in need, and her dedication to her friends and her family.
“That’s one of the things I’ve been crying over,” Alkobi said. “I didn’t get her recipes. I always said, ‘You have to teach me how to make this’ — all the Persian foods. We just had Friday night dinner at her house, and she hosted 30 to 40 people.”
Alkobi said Elghanayan also spent her time taking care of an elderly person in Pico-Robertson. Whenever she went to the grocery store, she called family and friends to see if they needed her to bring them anything. “She helped the world. That’s all she did. She gave and she gave.”
Born in Tehran, Iran, Elghanayan came to the U.S. in 1986 and settled in Marin County, where her husband, Mansour, ran a dry-cleaning business. They eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she was a member of Beith David Educational Center in Tarzana.
“I always knew I would lose my mom one day, but not now, and not like this. She helped the world. That’s all she did. She gave and she gave.” — Daniella Alkobi
A large crowd of family and friends attended Elghanayan’s funeral on March 21 at Eden Memorial Park. Additional surviving family members include Alkobi’s sisters, Jeanousse and Tannaz, and her grandchildren, Mason and Shayda.
Elghanayan celebrated her 75th birthday shortly before her death. “We still have her birthday cake in the fridge,” Alkobi said.
As of press time, law enforcement authorities were still seeking the other driver in the accident. California Highway Patrol Officer Ron Erickson said the driver fled the scene on foot but “we are actively searching for him and there are leads to him.”
