They were photos just after her birth to the photo of a memorial site at her parking space at Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia.

In between were photos of Briana Bugg growing up, a few video clips played over a soundtrack of her life.

Her services were livestreamed today from South Hill United Methodist Church and we watched at home with as many as 156 others.

We watched thinking what could have been, the life this young girl had ahead of her, listening to the rites delivered, the remembrances and how her death Sunday following a collision Saturday was not something preordained by a higher power, but something caused by a man on probation for drunk driving.

Her death, one of the ministers said, the one who baptized her, was not God’s will.

Instead her death came from “a man who made a choice,” to drink and get behind the wheel. His choice, not God’s, cost Briana her life. “God is crying harder than everyone.”

Said the minister presiding over the service, “Sometimes in our faith we have the idea God’s orchestrated everything.”

That’s not the case, he said. “We believe God is a God of love. What we can do is hold each other up.”

What the ministers said today rings true. The case is about choices — not God’s will.

As we have discovered during our continued investigation into this crash, Glen Ryland, the man charged in her death, a man who will be charged with second-degree murder and other counts, not only had two previous DWI charges in Halifax County, but one in Northampton years ago and one pending in Warren County. There was also a DWI charge which was dismissed in Northampton County for lack of evidence, our search has shown.

We made the decision to watch the livestream of the services because we wanted to know more about the person who from a distance we have reported on.

We learned a little more today.

We watched as students dabbed wet eyes with tissues, Briana’s father, still recovering from injuries sustained in the crash, observing his daughter’s services from a wheelchair.

He smiled at an anecdote the minister most familiar with the family told. He clasped the hand of a friend as he was pushed out of the church following the service.

Briana, the minister said, was “an amazing person” and an amazing friend, those relationships being important.

As the minister arrived at Vidant in Greenville, after an eight-hour trip from a funeral in Pennsylvania, he observed 12 to 15 girls, “sitting and praying and crying.”

When it was decided it was time for her to go, “We did the service of healing. The room was quiet. I saw hands of love. She was at peace.”

But, the minister said earlier, “She did not want to go. It was not her time.”

The minister and his wife became close friends with the Bugg family and even when they left South Hill they kept in touch. “We got to watch Briana grow into a person with a personality. As young as four or five you could tell who Briana was going to be. Briana never met a person she didn’t like. Briana was full of dreams. She wasn’t afraid to fail.”

In his career the minister said he has done 80 funerals. Breaking down, he said, this was the hardest.

As we watched the service, we looked at the floral arrangement in the form of a volleyball, one in the shape of a treble clef staff, the things this girl enjoyed in life, the photos of her friends, the photos of her family, the photos from a prom and family outings.

The minister noted those photos in the slide presentation. “If you had a chance to watch the videos you saw two things. She always had the largest smile. She’s always holding on to someone, showing her love.”

They were a brief glimpse into 17 years of life, one cut short by costly decisions — Editor