Memorial cross donated for Nicholasville teen killed in crash

A break in traffic led to a lengthy moment of silence, as four students at West Jessamine High School sat on the side of US 27 southbound in Nicholasville, remembering what happened on June 29, 2024.

“The day that a truly wonderful person was taken from us,” said Josie Slusher, one of the students.

Nearly two weeks ago, Jared Suarez was killed in a car accident at this site. Last Sunday, one of Jared’s friends from the cheerleading team reached out to a company about building a roadside memorial for Suarez.

Jake Embry, owner and operator of Pro Angle Contracting, said his company was asked to make the memorial for Jared.

“I said absolutely, so that’s what we did,” Embry said. “I reached out to Shane Whitaker with Whitaker Construction and Seth Corman with Exacta Painting and they all helped make this thing come to light in three days.”

The three businesses worked on different aspects of the cross-shaped memorial to remember Jared.

Caleb Barnes

“I told the guys that built it from my company, ‘I don’t care how long this takes. Make it perfect,’” Embry said. “I know his family is going to be coming out there to look at it. I want the family to really look at it and see that it’s something nice, and something that’s going to be long-lasting.”

Along the way, each business agreed to donate their components for free.

“(The students) asked how much we would charge, and we said absolutely nothing,” Embry said. “It was community-based. The community takes care of us, we take care of the community. It was all donation.”

“It just really meant a lot that his memory was this important to everybody,” Slusher said.

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The memorial went up Wednesday. For this group of friends, this was the first time they had seen the cross.

“A lot of people won’t even drive past this road because it’s just a bad memory,” said Lacie Minix. “This being here will help people raise their spirits.”

“If you’re having a tough day, you can come here and you can talk to Jared,” Keegan Howard said. “Even through you know you’re not going to hear a voice back, you know he’s listening.”

“It’s going to get easier, but it’s just really hard right now,” said Camila Torres. “Every time I come, I just get a sign that he’s listening.”