Family wonders why someone would take away the remembrances so soon.
View full sizeFlowers sat on the side of Route 48 in Granby Monday evening, at the crash site where Brianna L. Paice, 21, of Van Buren, died Saturday night. Her family said the many flowers and candles at the site had been removed, although they are not sure why.Granby, NY - As Brianna Paice's family and friends mourn her death, they are trying to understand why someone would have removed the many flowers and candles in glasses placed at the crash site, said her uncle, Steve Koegel.
Paice, 21, of Van Buren, died Saturday night in a one-car crash on state Route 48 in Granby, state police said. Her best friend, Brad T. Castellino, 29, of Lysander, suffered a right shoulder injury in the crash, according to his family. He was treated at Upstate University Hospital and released Sunday.
Koegel, of Oswego, and other family members visited the crash site around noon Monday. They cleaned debris from the area and placed many flowers at the site, but off the road, Stephen Koegel said. "It wasn't interfering with anything," he said. Many friends also had put flowers and lit candles at the site, he said.
Today, Koegel said he received a phone call from a friend who said the flowers and candles were gone. "But they're quickly being replaced," he said.
Even so, the family was hurt that someone would remove the memorial.
"I'm not understanding why anyone would do this," Koegel said. "It is very disrespectful."
Granby Town Supervisor Ed Williamson said he did not know who removed the flowers and candles, but the town is prohibited from doing any work along state or county highways. Route 48 in Granby is a state highway.
The state Department of Transportation resident engineer Thomas Corey, who oversees that portion of the highway near the Onondaga-Oswego county line, said the state has jurisdiction of Route 48. However, he does not know whether the DOT removed the flowers and candles. "I have no knowledge we removed it," Corey said. "I'm not aware that we did that."
Paice's family released a statement Monday expressing their grief but adding that “we are all better for having been blessed with her in our lives.” A Facebook page created in her memory had gained more than 1,500 fans by 1 p.m. today.
"We are obviously grief stricken at the loss of our dear Brianna," the family's statement read. "She had a love for her family and friends that was unmatched."
