On Tuesday July 5th, 2015, a beautiful, bright soul was involved in a terrible incident. Brenda Garnica Arellano was 19 years old. She was one of my best friends. We had made plans the night before to go to Lake Anna. Since she lived in Glen Allen and I live in Beaverdam, she was going to drive to my house. Then, I was going to drive us to the lake. I received a text message from her. She had a family matter to take care of before she left. She was running a little late but was on the way. Those were the last words from Brenda. After an hour, I reached out a few different times. No call back. 

On Wednesday, I received a message from a mutual friend, “Did you hear what happened to Brenda?”. That was the beginning of the worst day of my life. I immediately called my friend. Trying to fight the tears, I asked what happened. She was in a terrible car accident on Patrick Henry and Scotchtown Road. She was T-boned into the corn field. Brenda was brain dead on the scene. 

I want to say before the idea of distracted driving passes through your mind, put yourself in the shoes of the hundreds who have lost loved ones at that intersection. That is not what happened with Brenda, but that was one of the first comments I saw under the news report from a stranger. “She was probably texting.” In actuality, Brenda was lost and unfamiliar with the road. I have fought myself for years over the fact that I should have picked her up that day.

If that was your recent graduate of high school, how would you feel if a stranger minimized their death by accusing them of distracted driving? You should know Brenda was a cautious driver. The Officer on scene informed me she probably had a hard time seeing around the corner. 

In conclusion, Brenda is one of many tragedies to occur at this intersection. A traffic light was built at the intersection, but that flashing light does nothing. There are still car accidents today. We need a real stop light to make everyone stop and go where they feel safe to do so.

A similar petition went through, 10 years ago. If it had been accepted, my friend could be alive today. With that being said, I am currently doing research to find out how many accidents have occurred there. If you were personally effected, please message me to share your story. With the history and your support, I am hoping we can get a real traffic light and save people’s lives.