Highway Memorial Illegal, State Says

The heart-shaped red concrete memorial that Greg Cunningham put up along the highway where his daughter died is illegal and must be removed, state officials say.

“It’s not something we’re rushing out there in an emergency to do,” said Marion Waters, a traffic engineer. “But we can’t allow that type of encroachment out there that might cause somebody to stop where it’s not safe.”

The St. Louis man erected the slab beside Highway 75 in June, two years after the death of his 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer. She died when he fell asleep at the wheel on a family vacation and their van crashed.

Cunningham won’t fight it. “If it’s going to be destroyed, so let it be,” he said.