Aily Blaikie, the woman who was first on the scene of a fatal crash on Baby Doll Road Dec. 16, attended today’s memorial.
Family and friends of Rebekah Barrett and Shanaia Bennett
gathered on Baby Doll to remember the girls (who were best friends)
and to place roadside signs in their memory urging people to drive
safely.
On the night of the collision, Blaikie ran down the road after
hearing the Toyota Camry Rebekah was driving racing with another
car at high speed and the sickening crash that followed. Blaikie
arrived at the car, which had collided with a tree, and held the
two girls as they faded out of consciousness, saying a prayer for
them. A third girl, who was in the back seat, survived.
Blakie, a young woman herself, left in shock after aid arrived.
The next morning she was out on the road staring at the scene. The
memory of the girls’ last moments haunted Blakie. She had
nightmares and sometimes hallucinated, thinking she saw them in her
house and carried on conversations with them.
She often walked down to the scarred tree, where someone had set up
a makeshift memorial. For hours she would lie on the bench. One
day, she said, a man came to the site and they talked for a long
time. She later learned he was Rebekah’s father, John Barrett.
Blaikie met the two families and has developed a bond forged through the tragedy. Slowly, she is healing emotionally. But she wanted to do something for the Bennetts and Barretts.
Blakie is selling memorial wristbands with both girls’ names, a music note for Shanaia and a soccer ball for Rebecca. Any money she raises will help the family with expenses they’ve incurred and for memorials like the roadside signs.
The bracelets cost $4 each. To order one, call Blaikie at (360) 551-1614
