L-R, Elysia Kust, Mary Ann Kust (Images courtesy of Regan Dahnert)
MARINETTE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — After losing two loved ones in a crash, a Marinette County family is turning their grief into action.
They’re not only looking to educate, but also legislate.
For the Kust family, it was at the intersection of County Highways B and W where their lives changed forever. That’s where their matriarch, Mary Anne Kust, and her daughter-in-law, Elysia Kust, were killed in a crash while driving to get groceries.
“The world stood still. I remember hugging my nephew and holding him close to my chest, and it just seemed like time froze. It was this weird surreality of, ‘This is happening, but how?’ It was such a beautiful day,” said Mary Anne’s daughter, Lindsey Koenig.
The Marinette County Sheriff’s Office said the Kusts were heading east on Highway B when they were hit by a driver traveling south on Highway W. The driver, who admitted to running the stop sign after reaching down to grab his phone, was eventually charged with two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.
Just last week, a jury found him not guilty.
“I didn’t know what I wanted for the verdict, and once I heard it, I had this burden feeling, almost like, ‘Whoa! This isn’t gonna do anything for the greater good.’ Now I feel burdened, and I know my sister and my brother and father support it. We feel like, ‘Okay, somebody has to raise awareness. We have to do something,'” Koenig said.
Even before the verdict, the Kust family felt called to action — starting with education about the dangers of distracted driving, especially cellphone use.
“It doesn’t take much to hear your phone beep and just ignore it while you’re driving, or shut it off for silence. And if you can at least start thinking about what does that impact, that impact goes so far beyond the people in the accident. We get a painful reminder of that every day,” added Josh Koenig, Lindsey’s husband.
And if the loss of their loved ones wasn’t hard enough, the family is s also dealing with legal and insurance issues.
“These are things you just wouldn’t know. These laws, because you don’t have a reason to know them until you go through something like this,” Josh Koenig said.
With the help of State Rep. Jeff Mursau of Crivitz, the Kust family is working to create new legislation — not only with regard to distracted driving and its penalties, but also on issues of insurance, restitution and potential civil claims for similar situations.
“Hopefully they make sense to other people so we can get them passed, but like I said, until we get the bill drafted and we get it all for co-sponsorship and then send it to try to get it sent to a committee, we’ll never know,” said Mursau.
The family of Mary Ann and Elysia Kust know they and their loved ones are making a difference.
“Mom and Elysia were in the education world. And so, if we can help raise awareness and teach, and if people need to learn that way, then as long as they learn, it’s great,” Lindsey Koenig said.
“Yeah, I think they’d be very proud. I know her mom especially — to know that she’s still teaching after she’s gone,” Josh Koenig said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help support Elysia Kust’s husband and two children.
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