Krystal Bennett

1986-2005.

Krystal Bennett, 18,  was a bright and bubbly young woman who enjoyed life and had everything to live for.

Krystal was killed in September 2005 on River Road in the Hutt Valley. She was killed by disqualified driver Leah Wai Peneha, who had numerous previous convictions. Peneha was high on meth-amphetamine and drove for 300m on the wrong side of the road. She was sentenced to six years and six months on two charges of manslaughter and two charges of dangerous driving causing injury. Peneha’s passenger, twelve-year-old Kahn Edwards, also died in the crash.

In court Malcolm Barnett wiped away tears as he described the woman who killed his stepdaughter, Krystal. "Krystal didn't die in a car accident. She was killed by someone who should never have been behind the wheel of a car. "She was taken from us in the most tragic and horrific way . . . It's utterly unthinkable and impossible to cope with."

Krystal's parents Sharlene and Malcolm are members of the Sensible Sentencing Trust. They have made their victim impact statement publicly available through the SST website.

This is Krystal's story.

"Krystals life began with the overwhelming need and the longing for another child. I would often cry when I saw other pregnant women either at kindy or other places, the need for another child was so great.

She was named Krystal Joy as she was my sparkling jewel, and a joy to behold. I felt my life was complete.

As Krystal grew older she loved to sing and dance. When we did meals on wheels she and her friends would sing songs as we delivered meals to others. She attended Pippins, Brownies and Guides, and also while at school was an active member of drama class and modern jazz dancing. She would often make up her own dance moves and dances while singing using a hair brush as a microphone - her music was always louder than it needed to be.

As a young teenager she was shy, but anything that Krystal put her mind to she could accomplish. She went on to make semi-finals in speech contests and also travelled as part of a performing arts school stage challenge in song and dance . She played soccer ( football ) and rugby at school and would often practice her tackles etc., in the lounge at home. Krystal loved sports and football and the All Blacks were her favourite. She would watch every game on TV with her sister and they would bet on their favourite teams. Byron Kellher and David Beckham were her favourites.

Krystal always had high hopes and aspirations (anything less than the top was not good enough). To get there she had to start lower down the ladder, but always worked so hard in every job she had, which included her after school jobs. She was very quick to climb that ladder and when she got where she wanted to be, she would often start again in another field with another challenge. Her latest challenge and success was when she worked for Dick Smith Eletrontics in Upper Hutt. Even at the interview, the Manager told us after Krystal was killed, that Krystal had something no one else had at the interviews and he had made up his mind at that point, she was the one to get the job.

Krystal started work at DSE in mid-July 2005 with the grand opening on the 29th - 31st July in Upper Hutt. Krystal out sold the guys in the shop floor week after week, which she was very proud of. Every month a newsletter was distributed to each branch, which ranked emplyees in order of monthly sales. Krystal was ranked 57th out of the top 100 for August 2005 (there were 1400 employees at that time). But Krystal will never know this as the results came out 3 days after she was killed. Just imagine where she would be now - had she lived.

Krystal hated that fact that Xmas and her Birthday were only two days apart, as Krystal's birthday is the 23rd of December. She always thought that being so close, she wasn't getting enough spent on her as her sisters (which was not the case at all)

We have been living a nightmare since Krystal was killed in a car crash. Birthday and Xmas to us now mean very little. On Krystal's 19th Birthday we were erecting a cross at the scene of the crash. Two days later we went back to the scene to celebrate Xmas. Krystal's 20th Birthday, we put her ashes into her garden at home at the base of an Angel, and by her weeping cherry tree. Two days later we once again celebrated Xmas without Krystal.

To us this year is the real big one. This year is the year that Krystal would have turned 21. We don"t know where to turn to this year, how do you celebrate this? All we can do is to attach a plaque to the back of her cross in recongnition of her 21st Birthday. We can't celebrate anything else after this as there is nothing else left. No wedding, no grandchildren, nothing anymore. Only photo's and precious memories are left. To lose the baby of the family is unthinkable and utterly imposible to cope with."

     Sharlene and Malcolm Barnett
     December 2007