Davina

There was a point going North from Santa Fe when we got off the interstate and onto the back roads that descansos became almost as common as mailboxes. At first it made me think “man, people are really bad drivers in New Mexico” but upon reflection I realized that people are really bad drivers in general … and New Mexican citizens are just dramatically more likely to build these memorials.

“I will never stop loving you,” says the heart on Arch’s descanso. The memorial is for Davina Archuleta, a twenty six year old who was hit while crossing the road. The man who hit her believed he had hit a deer and left the scene of the accident; four years later he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death.