Her name was Tricia Grandchamp and she was 27 when she was killed in the early morning hours of July 3, 2004. I'd drive by this memorial each morning on my way to work. According to a little item I found in the local paper, she ran a red light and struck an empty gasoline tanker truck. That's all it said. Nothing more.
When I finally got around to posting something that December, I didn't know what to expect. Nothing, I suppose. Then, in July 2005, someone came across the posting and left this anonymous tribute:
I am just leaving a little note in ode to Tricia Ryan/Grandchamp. We grew up together in F.V. and were close friends throughout elementary school. We lost touch over the years and then reconnected briefly in college when one of our teachers, whom we were all very close with, passed away. I think that she traveled a difficult road throughout her short life. I remember her being a pretty serious latch-key kid throughout her youth. She basically lived at her friends houses growing up. I heard through the vine that she struggled through many difficult times during her teens/early twenties. She had two children when she passed, both girls...one around 8 and the other just a toddler. I didn't find out about her death until months after it had taken place. Oddly, I drove by that shrine on Beach Blvd. several times, but never stopped to see who it was for. Several of our friends from that time still keep in touch, and were saddened by the unfortunate news of her death. As I look back on old pictures from slumber parties, skate nights, beach days, etc...I find it hard to believe that she is no longer here. I think that Tricia was a good person with an honest heart, who deserved a better shot than the one she was given. I hope that where ever she is now, she is at peace.
n/a | 07.14.05 - 11:44 pm | #
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