Paris’s Tree: A Banyan Next To A Shallow Canal

Paris* was in her late teens. She was rollerblading in the evening, to get her mind off a play that she was directing at her high school. I can picture her slowly skating along, with thoughts on stage directions and spotlights.

She was on a sidewalk, that overlooked a semi-busy road and a canal. There were several schools that lined that road, a tiny market with fresh milkshakes, and a miniature zoo featuring parrots, baby orangutans, and a petting zoo. Banyan trees line the canal, providing shade for passerby and ducks.

As she skated, a high school student was driving a car. This girl was celebrating graduation and had taken tequila shots as well as marijuana. The car was a gift from her parents to go with the diploma. She chose to drive from a friend’s house.

City drivers are dangerous as it is, but in this case, tragedy ensued. The driver over-corrected and veered off the road, ramming into Paris. That road is wide, but the sidewalk next to it is very narrow.

Paris didn’t survive the crash; I had been told she had been pinned to a tree. The news says she was tossed back several feet and the car hit the tree. She could have been pinned, though, because the tree marks her memorial spot. The driver was arrested on charges of drunk driving and manslaughter. If their luck had been worse…