WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — To the thousands of drivers who pass by Brynlee Bigelow's cross on I-64 in Woodford County, it may just look like any other cross, but for Johnna Atkinson-Bigelow and her husband Brad, it's a piece of their daughter.
"On a metaphysical level, they're like connection points to the last place a person was before they go on," Brad Bigelow said of the cross' meaning.
Brynlee was 21 years old when she was killed in a crash along I-64 in February of 2020. She was a UK softball player and former standout athlete in Somerset.
"The place of the accident is a sacred place in many ways because that was the last place she took her last breath," Johnna Atkinson-Bigelow said.
So, when they got a message recently telling them the cross that Brad made by hand was gone, they were heartbroken.
"Immediately, I thought did someone take it? I mean, why would it not be there? It was devastating to think that it was gone," Atkinson-Bigelow said.
Living two hours away in Somerset, Johnna turned to Facebook, asking for help. The quest to find the cross grew until she got a message from JC Little, a former student. They had not spoken in about ten years.
JC Little said, "I went through the car wash, and I was just killing time on my phone. I saw her post, so I was like I can drive by."
After just a little bit of searching, he found the pieces of the cross in the brush and restored it to its rightful place.
"I went and changed my shoes, got in the brush, pulled it out, and hammered it back up," Little said.
Johnna and Brad were floored. They felt taken care of. His actions not only restoring this meaningful cross but also Brynlee's legacy and their faith in the goodness of others.
"Our pastor said pray we have ears to hear and eyes to see the miracles of God. That was on Sunday, this happened on Monday, it is a miracle from God," Johnna said.
Brad added, "There's still great people out there and he's one of them."
