(Left: Brandon Harper, 26, with his beautiful Mom, Catherine, on Christmas 2006.)
by Catherine Harper
Brandon Louis Harper was 26 years old and on his way to get a Jumbo Jack at 10:00 p.m., when a 20-year-old boy being pursued by the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department, hit my son at 87 miles an hour. Being the single mother of one son, and then having that one son taken from me was hard enough, but then realizing that the Sheriffs were pursuing the 20-year-old on two of the busiest streets in our city brought me to a new awareness about the tragedy that surrounds high speed pursuits.
Yes, here's Brandon when he was a "little guy."
The love in these pictures will bring tears as well as smiles.
At right, Brandon poses with Cousin Jenna.
A makeshift memorial surrounds two traffic poles at the southwest corner of Broadway and Betteravia Road Monday afternoon. The roadside tribute honors Brandon Harper, who died in a traffic collision there late Saturday night. Ed Souza/Staff/Santa Maria Times
News Stories
Santa Maria man charged with murder for deadly car crash (Story is no longer available)
Though Garibay (the fleeing driver) faces murder charges, Catherine Harper, Brandon's mother, has publicly questioned law enforcement's handling of the situation. She has told reporters that she is speaking out because she wants to see a change in the protocol of high-speed chases so that other mothers don't have to go through what she is going through.
S.M. man victim in pursuit crash.
From the above news story: Brandon Harper graduated from Righetti High School in 1998, said his mother, Catherine Harper. His father, Terry Harper, is an English teacher at Pioneer Valley High School. Harper's mother described Brandon as a sports fanatic who was a huge Oakland Raiders fan. He had worked as a carpenter for a construction company for three years. He was single and didn't have any children, she said.
Catherine Harper said her son, who was her only child, was charismatic and had many friends from all walks of life. "He loved bringing people together," she said. "He would hold barbecues at his house and gather a group of friends to watch the games."
