Krystal Kazmark (1995-2020)

Krystal Kazmark’s sudden passing in a tragic, preventable car crash left an irreplaceable space in the hearts of her family. Krystal was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by her boyfriend on a rural road. He collided with another vehicle, at first claiming he had seen an unknown animal. His truck was smashed, and Krystal died instantly. He sustained injuries, along with the other passenger, the other driver, and three passengers in the other car.

Investigators concluded that Krystal’s boyfriend lied about trying to avoid an animal and was likely under the influence at the time of the crash. At first, they cited him with a felony: murder; and DUI drugs and alcohol causing injuries.

According to a probation report, the driver said he was “a ‘habitual’ cannabis user,” and disclosed that “he had smoked a ‘couple of bowls’ of cannabis earlier in the day” of the accident. 

Krystal’s parents had warned him not to drive after using marijuana. “I even confronted him once when he was smoking and he was going to be driving, and I reminded him that he’s got my daughter in the car, and I told him that if he ever did anything that harmed her, I would haunt him, and I’m the one being haunted now,” Mary Kazmark told CBS News, Los Angeles.

Court records show they found 18 nanograms of THC in the guilty driver’s blood, well above the legal limit set in most states.  But California doesn’t set a limit. Colorado imposes a limit of 5 nanograms per se, but someone may be impaired below that limit. The .08 alcohol limit works well for measuring alcohol impairment, but marijuana impairment can’t be quantified as accurately. Cannabis advocates understand the lack of an easy way to measure THC impairment and lawyers take advantage of the problem. 

The driver ended up being charged with just a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail.  “I think he’s getting away with murder. He murdered somebody, he’s going to get away with it,” Craig Kazmark said on a CBS-N.

The Kazmark’s would like California to put limits into the law so that others would think twice before getting behind the wheel. Krystal had a beautiful voice; she will be remembered for the inspirational song she sang at her Palos Verde High School graduation in 2013.