Pieces of shattered taillights lay among flowers on the busy roadway where Deandra Brigham died in an accident earlier this week. On Wednesday night, relatives and friends gathered at the collision scene on East Livingston Avenue near South Hamilton Road to grieve.
“It doesn’t make sense, and I think we’re still trying to wrap our minds around it,” said Charissa Richardson, a close family friend.
“It’s heartbreaking, devastating, and it doesn’t feel right or fair,” said Deandra’s cousin, Tonisha Jordan.
Deandra died early Monday morning when her automobile was slammed head-on by a wrong-way motorist.
The community’s passion for Deandra was on full show at the vigil, where over 100 individuals gathered with balloons and candles.
“I don’t know how any parent can come back from this. My daughter meant everything to me, man. They took my right hand away,” Deandra’s mother, Keato Lanier, said.
Scottsdale Man Arrested for Allegedly SHOOTING AND KILLING WIFE WHILE CHILDREN WERE AT HOME
Lanier recognized that her focus today is to care for her 9-year-old grandson, Deandra’s son.
“This is not fair to my grandchild. “I have to make sure he stays loved,” Lanier added.
Deandra’s greatest friend of over 20 years, Jonniqua Lindsey, described Deandra’s kid as her everything.
“She was so proud of him with everything that he has ever done in his little nine years of life,” Lindsey told me.
The wrong-way driver, 19-year-old Samuel Beyene, died in the incident, as did another passenger, 19-year-old Joel Beyene. A third passenger was brought to the hospital in severe condition.
“I’m still angry about it, but to know that two people from that side have now lost their lives as well, I can only feel bad for the mother,” says Lindsey.
Man Sentenced for MURDERING 16-YEAR-OLD SCHOOLMATE and HIDING BODY in SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS
According to the collision report, the wrong-way motorist was speeding at 75 mph in a 35 mph zone without his headlights on. None of the persons involved were wearing seatbelts.
As family and friends pick up the pieces, they provide a heartbreaking reminder that such occurrences may be prevented.
“Check your cars, check the lights, put your seatbelts on,” says Lindsey.
“It’s time to take this driving thing seriously. Of course, it should have been serious, but it’s gotten out of control at this point,” Richardson stated.