Plea in a Dead Friend’s Name

On May 5 a friend was killed on the Ventura Freeway in Agoura Hills near Liberty Canyon Road about 2 p.m. while waiting at a call box after her car developed engine trouble. Kathryn Montgomery, 30, died at Westlake Village Community Hospital at 2:49 p.m., after she was struck by a drunk driver.

I only had the pleasure of knowing Kathryn a short time but I could tell from the first time we met that she was a happy person, was enjoying life and had a smile that shone from her soul. It was fun to laugh with her and fun to watch her be happy. She had talent, ambition and youth on her side.

I have been told by CHP officials that Kathryn had done everything right, given the circumstances, to avoid danger, and yet she still died.

People have remarked that the driver who struck Kathryn will “probably receive a short time in prison and probation.” It leads me to feel that either (1) the courts are not administering a harsh enough sentence for a crime or, (2) the laws should be changed so that courts would have no option other than giving the maximum punishment for the crime.

Something is very wrong with the way some people think and I am not sure I can change that. But if I could plead one thing in the memory of my friend Kathryn, it would be to not let this person who struck her go free to kill again.

Don’t wait to become involved until it’s your relative or friend who’s the innocent victim. Write a letter, talk with a friend about it (drunk driving), become a designated driver at a party, take a taxi or phone a friend if you intend to go out drinking, or join Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

STEVE KREIN

Ventura