Kroger employee who died in parking lot accident was a grandmother, cancer survivor

Loved ones are remembering 62-year-old Linda Kay Brown, after a fatal accident earlier this week.

They say she had finished her shift at the Kroger store on Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard in Arlington on Wednesday and had gone back to attend a coworker's retirement party.

Arlington Police said she had just left the store around 3:42 p.m. when a Ford F-150 hit her as she was walking in the parking lot.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I miss her so much and she means the world to me, so I’m just lost right now," said Brown's boyfriend, Cubie Nickelbury Jr.

Investigators believe the driver was traveling towards the front entrance of the store, came to a stop near the end of the row, and then turned to go eastbound. They said he struck Brown as he was turning.

Police said the driver stopped right away and began rendering aid to Brown.

“We are praying for the driver involved as well as her coworkers because many of them were present during that time," said one of Brown's daughters, Tiffany Burns.

Praying, even as they try to process their own sudden loss.

“She had breast cancer in 2014 and survived that. So, that’s what kind of makes it even crazier to think about the situation, it’s just so surreal," Burns said.

Burns and her sister were with her mom when she underwent surgery for that cancer back in 2014.

When chemotherapy started causing Brown's hair to fall out, Burns was there, too, shaving her hair with her mom.

“A good friend of mine came over and did both of ours together and that way she didn’t have to just experience it just falling out like that," Burns said. Her boys surprised their grandmother by shaving their heads, too.

Burns was also able to be with her mom during her final moments at the hospital on Wednesday.

She said she told her mom that all the people she loved, love her too, and that they will be OK.

"I wanted her to know that. That it was OK for her to, to just let her body do what it needed to do. Because you could tell it was, it was too much," Burns said.

A Go Fund Me has been set up for the family to help cover funeral expenses and other costs as they grieve.

Arlington Police said the driver of the pickup truck is not facing any criminal charges.

A spokesperson explained that typically, a driver can only be charged if police can prove they were reckless in operating their car, like if they were intoxicated, or if they didn't follow the law; for example, if they didn't stop.

In this case, said the Arlington Police spokesperson, the driver did everything he was legally required to do after the accident and, at this time, there's no evidence to prove he was reckless in operating his car.

The spokesperson added that the investigation is still ongoing.

NBC 5 also reached out to Kroger. A spokesperson there said Brown was an employee of 11 years.

“The loss of any associate is heartbreaking for our company. We share our sympathies with the family and our associates following the sudden loss of Linda Brown, an associate for 11 years. In line with our values, we are offering grief counseling services to our associates at the Arlington, TX location," they wrote in an emailed statement.