Brianne

Brianne Blocker was twenty, Rachel Grant was seventeen, Aaron Choat was twenty two. A jury decided that Aaron had been driving when the Jeep the three were in went off the road on Highway 20 in the wee hours of the night in 2006.

Aaron and another passenger lived; Brianne and Rachel did not.

Choat’s attorney’s argued that Grant had been driving when the accident happened. A jury found otherwise, and Choat was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for drunk driving, reckless endangerment, and second degree manslaughter. The conviction, of course, didn’t bring the girls back to their families, and so their descanso adorns the side of Highway 20 just outside of Bend, Oregon.

The memorial is coming up on twenty years old but still shows signs of love. It’s hard for me to say how “fresh” plastic flowers are given the somewhat harsh environment they are subjected to, but I have definitely seen more neglected twenty year old descansos during this project.

I almost just drove right by the girl’s memorial, to be honest. Lots of fences out this way have bins full of rocks, I suppose to anchor them. The first time I went by this memorial I thought “oh, someone just decorated that fence …” but I think I am starting to understand the zen of this work and my lizard brain said “no, go back. It’s what you’re looking for.”

Because remember, I go out seeking death.

Rest in peace, Bri and Rachael.