Student remembered at Rose Parade

By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

ROSE PARADE BUTTERFLY-Kimberly Kimble-Gast,lower left, was remembered at this year's Tournament of Roses Parade. Her photo was displayed on one of two floats that encouraged organ donation. When the Agoura Hills teen was killed in 2003 by a drunk driver, her organs were donated to others.

Kimberly Kimble-Gast, an Agoura Hills teen killed by a drunk driver on Sept. 20, 2003, was honored recently at the 116th Rose Parade.

The 2005 Tournament of Roses’ theme was "Celebrate Family" and Kimble-Gast’s photo was among eight people who donated organs after their death. The photos were displayed on two floats.

Kimble-Gast’s photo adorned the Eastman Kodak "Memory Lane" float. It was one of four on a butterfly.

The second float to convey the importance of organ donation was the Donate Life Float, sponsored by OneLegacy, an organ donation agency.

Its theme, "Many Families, One Gift," carried the message that organ donations from one death can save many lives. The floats appeared on camera every 95 minutes from the start of the New Year’s Day parade.

Kimble-Gast’s vital organs, including her kidneys, pancreas, heart and liver were donated to four people, explained Michael Murrie, who with his wife, Jackie, were in the process of becoming her legal guardians.

Murrie said that one kidney and Kimble-Gast’s pancreas went to a 50-year-old mother of two daughters. Her second kidney was transplanted into a 63-year-old woman, and her heart saved Gina MacQueen, a 34-year-old married mother of two who lives in Orange County. The teen’s skin, bone and other tissue was also donated.

"All (the people who received organs) live in Southern California, and are still doing well," Murrie said. So well, that MacQueen and Murrie decorated the New Year’s Day Parade float on Dec. 11.

Kimble-Gast was a sophomore at AHS and captain of its cheerleading team when she was killed.

She died after a car, driving on the wrong side of the 101 Freeway, struck her near Refugio Road in Santa Barbara County. She was en route to a church retreat.

"Kim was resilient despite many hardships at home," Murrie said. "She was a joy. She smiled. She was often kind and open to other students, even those who were strangers to her. After her mother’s death, she told my wife, Jackie, of her desire to donate her organs if the occasion ever arose."

Oaks Christian High School student, Michael Rivas, now a senior, was also injured in the accident. He was the driver. His leg was amputated below the knee, his spleen was removed and he suffered a lacerated liver.

Also in the car were Michael Rivas Sr., and two other students.

The driver of the wrong-way vehicle, Miguel Martinez, 23, and his passenger, Jose Hernandez, 20, both from Goleta, also died in the collision.

Test results indicated that Martinez was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

For more information on organ donation, visit http://www.onelegacy.or/prod/components/rose2005/media/.