Krista Brown still struggles with the loss of her “loving, genuine, caring” partner Martin Paul Robak, who was killed by a drunk driver six years ago.
Robak was one of two people whose names were added to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada’s memorial monument recently. The Glen Eden Memorial Gardens monument in West St. Paul pays tribute to those who lost their lives to an impaired driver. The names of Robak and Jeanne Balcaen (Lavack) are now among the 86 people remembered.
It was a Friday evening in November 2018 when Brown learned her partner was killed in a head-on collision.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Krista Brown lays a red flower next to the name of her partner, Martin Paul Robak, who was killed by a drunk driver. His name was added to the MADD Manitoba Memorial Monument at Glen Eden Funeral Home and Cemetary on the weekend.
“When I got the news, I was totally shocked. It was the worst news anyone could ever get,” Brown said. “If you were ever sad, down or low he would make you laugh. He was such a jokester.”
Brown said Robak was a loving father of two daughters and a son and a valued family member. He was adventurous and loved fishing, she added.
Robak was driving a friend to get his paycheque in St. Clements, Brown said. The friend’s girlfriend was in the back seat as they drove along Highway 59 and 44 where there is a small curve in the road.
Robak was pronounced dead at the scene and his friend suffered life-changing injuries. The friend’s girlfriend escaped without major injuries.
Having Robak’s name added to the memorial has been overwhelming and sad, Brown said, but it gives family another place to visit and remember him.
In 2021, 24 people were killed in impaired driving collisions and 13 were seriously injured, according to the most recent statistics available on Manitoba Public Insurance’s website.
The data shows the most prevalent factors in collisions that caused death or serious injury were distracted driving followed by impaired driving.
Brown said she wishes there didn’t have to be a memorial for victims of impaired driving.
“Please, I’m begging everyone please do not drink and drive. Do not be high and drive,” Brown said. “You wouldn’t believe how this ruins your whole life. You will always have a void in your heart.”
MADD Canada has other monuments in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Similar tributes are in the works for British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.
jura.mcilraith@freepress.mb.ca