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LAYTON — A mother's memorial for her daughter, killed by distracted drivers, has disappeared. She is looking for answers and has a reminder for all drivers and pedestrians.
It was almost exactly two years ago that BaiLee DiBernardo and a friend were crossing the street at a crosswalk at 199 N. Fort Lane, about 75 yards away from the school, when a pickup truck pulled out of a parking lot and hit them. The driver had leaned over to get something and apparently never saw them. Another car also hit BaiLee. The friend survived, but BaiLee did not.
"It's devastating that someone would take something that doesn't belong to them that's a memorial for my daughter who lost her life here because people were not paying attention," said Kristina Morris, BaiLee's mother.
Morris noticed the wreath gone on Tuesday. She had posted the wreath after the crash as a memorial and a reminder.
"It's important that people do remember these tragedies, that it does make a difference," Morris said. "Distracted driving is something so easy for us to be distracted behind the wheel."
Morris is now working with the city to get a more permanent memorial and planned to make a new wreath on Friday night at a celebration of life for BaiLee.
