Utah Street to be Dedicated in Memory of Ryan Bennett
A street in West Valley City, Utah, is set to be dedicated in memory of Ryan Bennett in 2007.
The street, called "Ryan Bennett Lane," will be part of a residential neighborhood consisting of 29 homes.
Bryan Cragun is the developer that decided to name the street after Ryan. Cragun says he met Ryan 12 years ago while in high school. Cragun and a friend were listening to Hot 94.9, a radio station in Utah, when Ryan said he and his friends were looking for people to play basketball with.
"I knew where the radio station was, so my friend and I went there and met Ryan," Cragun said. "He was very friendly from the beginning..."
Cragun and Ryan scheduled a time to play basketball together. Ryan later told Cragun that he was always welcome at the radio station, and they became close friends.
Like any other teenager, Cragun says he had his fair share of hard times growing up.
"Whenever I had some problems at home, he let me stay at his place whenever I needed to," Cragun said. "I never asked, he always offered."
Ryan and Cragun kept in touch as their lives took them to different places. Eventually, Ryan and his family moved back to Utah.
"When he moved back to Utah, he had us over [to] his house for a pizza and game party," Cragun said. "It was so good to see him again."
Less than a month later, Ryan, his wife Tonya, and his four children, were involved in a horrific car accident. Ryan died, Tonya was seriously injured, and two of their children were injured as well.
"My mom called me about the news and I rushed straight to the hospital to visit Tonya and the kids," Cragun said. "I felt so bad."
"We had plans to get season Utah Jazz tickets together and get into volleyball leagues and other things like that," Cragun said.
"When I got married [on] July 1st, I left a seat open in the Salt Lake temple for him," he said.
Cragun says he decided to dedicate the street in memory of Ryan so that he'll always be around. Cragun says that the layout for the project has been approved, and final approval is expected by the end of February. He says he expects the street dedication to take place in May or June.
Source: www.ryanbennett.org