HOUSTON—Cy-Fair Fire Captain Mark Rodriguez is no stranger to drunk-driving accidents. But last Thursday, Rodriguez found his own daughter dead at the scene of a crash on Highway 6. Now he and his family have been moved to action.
"The drinking and driving has got to stop, guys. It’s got to stop," Rodriguez said.
About 200 people gathered Sunday to erect a cross memorial at the scene of the crash where 22-year-old Krysta Rodriguez was killed.
"This is overly devastating," Mark Rodriguez said. "I don’t want another family to go through what we are going through. We are crushed, basically."
Krysta Rodriguez was riding in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car when they were T-boned by a pickup truck as they turned into a Whataburger parking lot.
Investigators believe the driver of that pickup, Thomas Christopher Boyd, was intoxicated. They said he was headed northbound with his headlights off when he crashed into the car carrying Rodriguez at a high rate of speed.
Investigators said Boyd, who was not injured, admitted that he’d been drinking and failed a field sobriety test.
"We found credit card receipts in his wallet to support that he had been drinking… The totals exceed $60," Sgt. S. Wolverton said the night of the crash.
Boyd has since been charged with intoxication manslaughter and is scheduled to face a judge next week.
Meanwhile, Krysta Rodriguez’s family is left only with memories -- and a mission to keep drunk drivers off the road.
They handed out bracelets in memory of Krysta on Sunday.
"I love her and I miss her," sister Deedee Rodriguez said.
Funeral services for Krysta Rodriguez will be held Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Memorial Oaks Funeral Home Chapel.
If you’d like to help the family, you can do so at any First Service Credit Union location. Donations will be received "In memory of Lil Krysta Rodriguez."
Member number 96651; Savings 0096651000.
