At six o'clock in the afternoon of May 4, 2001, Kristal asked my opinion as to how she looked in her cute new outfit before she left the house, and then a few short hours later at 12:40 a.m., a police officer came to our door, asked to come in and then told me that Kristal has been in a fatal accident. Shortly after the officer left, an organ donor organization rep called to ask if we would be willing to donate her body parts, and then a coroner called to tell me that Kristal is now with her! How does anyone - and I mean anyone - prepare for all of this? I believe the answer is we cannot! I still find myself shaking my head trying to have it sink in, . . . it doesn't!

Our daughter Kristal was only three weeks away from graduating from high school, and she was preparing to attend St. Cloud State with 12 of her friends, all going to school together. She had talked many of her friends into joining her at college, and yes, they all went to college, BUT without her.
When going through her things, I found a paper that she was writing for an English
class. The assignment was to write a

persuasive paper and she had chosen why 16-year-olds should only get a provisional license. Ironically she listed in her paper the same reasons that led to her death.

At her funeral we learned that Kristal had tons of friends and acquaintances because approximately 2,000 people came to say good-bye. We don't even know 2,000 people.
We have three other children who now look to me and often wonder what is next. I am supposed to be the glue for this family, but I can honestly say that the glue has gotten wet and it is dissolving quickly.

Almost everyday our four-year-old twins ask about Kristal and what the 16-year-old boy who killed her is doing. They want to know if they can go to see him and beat him up. Our 16-year-old son still has not been able to talk about Kristal as she was his best friend, and it hurts much too much.

People around me seem to be uncomfortable with my outward stand on safety and this whole campaign, but I need to do something. Making a stand after a senseless death is empowerment. As parents our job is to protect our children and, when one is killed, we feel powerless and doing something important can help restore that sense of control. We cannot bring our loved one back, but trying to make the world a safer place for our other children and society can help us deal with the loss.

At this time, our goal is to hold a benefit for the Kristal Clear Campaign - not just for Kristal - but also for ANYONE who has been injured as a result of someone's careless actions. We want the benefit to be a starting point for a united stand on the issue of safe driving. Personally, I would also like to focus on education, especially driver's education classes for those young inexperienced drivers. I intend to learn what is being taught now and, if I find there's a need for more lessons about safety and good driving habits, this campaign could help promote those efforts to implement that information. We also want to involve other parents in this endeavor. In our opinion, new young drivers must be taught how to keep themselves and their passengers safe rather than just pass the class.

Over a year has passed and we are still shaking our heads in disbelief that this really happened to our family. There are still unanswered questions in my head about that night, some I am just not ready to know or ask. If this could happen to us, it could happen to you or your family. Think and teach safety. . . be a role model.

Mike & Kristy Monnens