GLENDIVE — A shining bridge at night may make you think of London's Albert Bridge over the River Thames or the Kosciuszko Bridge spanning the New York Harbor. Now you can add the Bell Bridge in Glendive to that list as a spectacular display lights up the Yellowstone River every night.
"We light the bridge for so many different people," said Angie Hagen, founder of Love Like Justice, an organization that brought the lights to the Bell Bridge and first flipped the switch right before New Year's 2023.
“It was so magical and so emotional," Hagen said of the bridge, which was first lit in rainbow colors. "When you kind of are working towards this goal, you get lost in it. And then when it comes to you think of like everything that had to happen to get to that point."
The project started two and a half years before the first lighting on the day of the funeral of Hagen's daughter, Justice.
"I was still going through my grieving process, but I knew I was gonna do it," Hagen said.
Justice Hagen was killed in a car accident outside of Glendive on June 25, 2020, one month after her 18th birthday.
“I was already asleep and she left and went for a drive all by herself," Hagen said. "My husband, her dad came home later and said Justice wasn't answering the phone and he couldn't figure out where she was."
Hagen and her husband Darren went out that night and the next day to look for Justice up Marsh Road, knowing she frequently drove up in the area.
"We turned around before we got to the spot. I do believe that we were just never supposed to go," Hagen said.
While the memorial marks the spot of the crash in the mountains Justice loved, Angie saw her daughter everywhere in Glendive and wanted to keep her memory alive and alight in the community.
"I announced the day of Justice's funeral about the bridge, not knowing it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars," Hagen said. "I knew without a doubt it was gonna happen. I just didn't know how.”
That's how Love Like Justice started.
"I was trying to figure out how to get the money to light the bridge. I thought, well, I'll just start a company and sell Love Like Justice clothing and merchandise with a mission of reminding people to be kind, reminding people to go on some kind of adventure, and just truly try to live their life and have fun," Hagen said.
Through selling Love Like Justice shirts, stickers, merchandise, and more, the Hagens raised enough money to light the bridge just in time for the 2023 New Year.
"It was very emotional but so beautiful," Hagen said.
Rainbow lights were picked for the inaugural lighting to honor Justice, who Hagen said could never pick a favorite color, insisting she loved them all.
Now, the Hagens light the bridge every night in different colors for different causes, some of which are sponsored as a fundraiser, while other nights are donated.
Hagen says the goal now is to light the second half of the bridge that extends into the trees, to keep the project viable, and to keep finding ways to spread the word about the mission.
“Dream big because I feel like people do have these great goals and these dreams, but they get scared and they let fear get in their way," Hagen said. "So I just want to try to get people to embrace their life to the fullest, because I truly know from experience that tomorrow's not a guarantee."
"It makes me happy and it makes me love Justice," Hagen said, looking at the bridge lit at night. "I hope she's proud of me."
Click here to visit the Love Like Justice website.
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