McKenna Angelillo-Smith was a criminal justice student at the time of her death at age 19. She wanted her life to make a difference for others. Her Mom, Kristen Angelillo-Keezer is carrying on that legacy as she shares McKenna’s story at area high schools.
McKenna (“Kenna”) Marie Angelillo-Smith, 19, was a University of Colorado student living in Colorado Springs. She last talked with her mom on Thursday, June 26, 2025. The next day, her oldest sister, Hailey, was concerned because she couldn’t reach Kenna.
“Although my daughter told me ‘don’t freak out,’ of course we had concerns, because McKenna was never without her phone,” said mom Kristen Angelillo-Keezer.
Despite numerous calls from family and friends, McKenna never answered. The last location the phone registered was Interstate 25 at 8 p.m. on the 26th. Then, family members found a news report of a traffic accident at that same time.
Through Facebook, and with the help of McKenna’s friend Oakley, Kristen was able to locate a witness to the accident, Tonya Walker. Kristen sent her a photo and while on the phone, the woman became hysterical. “That’s her! It was so … it was so bad!” Kristen hung up when the woman became too overwrought to talk.
Despite this communication, the police, as well as the hospital, kept telling the family they had no one by McKenna’s name at the facility. (Later, the Keezers would discover McKenna was not carrying ID, so she was admitted as a “Jane Doe.”)
Kristen headed to Colorado. “I knew I had enough information, and was going to find my daughter and sit with her while she healed—if, in fact, that had really been her in the accident.”
While on the airplane, Kristen’s phone was silenced, so she had no idea her daughter was deceased. Her husband, who was out of state, took the call from law enforcement and gave the entire family instructions not to tell Kristen until he could make sure she wasn’t alone.
“Although I was panicked about my daughter, God gave me a peace in my core,” Kristen said. “It’s hard to explain how two different emotions can co-exist in your body at the same time, but they did…I believe God was preparing me for what was coming.”
Kristen’s brother, whose flight arrived at the same time, met her at the gate. They joined family and loaded into a van. After some short, post-flight small talk, Kristen took a deep breath and said, “Okay, go.”
He proceeded to tell Kristen of that fateful night. McKenna was the passenger on a motorcycle, going about 120 mph, which clipped another vehicle. The young man, who was driving under the influence, lived, but McKenna perished.
Kristen started screaming, then yelled for her son to pull over. “I can’t breathe! STOP the car!”
The bereaved mother scrambled out of the van and started walking. She walked until she collapsed on the ground and began to scream.
“It was as if I was being ripped apart and burned alive at the same time,” Kristen explained. “It was the most painful feeling.” The next few hours and days became a blur.
Nevertheless, God had a way of sending what some would call “nudges” or “God winks.”
“Kenna was obsessed with butterflies and tattoos. One day, as I was riding in a car, I could actually feel her as if she were behind me in the car, wrapping her arms around me,” Kristen said. “Right then, a yellow butterfly flew across the windshield. Later, another large, yellow swallowtail butterfly hung out with the family for two entire days, even when being brought into the house!”
Other stories began to come out from the night of the accident. A nurse, who had “missed her exit,” was present at the scene and comforted McKenna, assuming she would live due to her strong pulse.
At the bond hearing, two days post-accident, Kristen watched as young Jake, the driver of the motorcycle, was video-conferenced into the courtroom from his hospital bed. Kristen immediately knew she didn’t want him to be subject to prison life. Although Jake’s sentencing would be many months later, Kristen and her husband worked with the District Attorney’s office to help decide the most appropriate course of action.
“My husband and I believe in service, and we serve in our house and church, and Jake should serve in a way that matters,” Kristen said. “He took a life. It’s now time for him to help save others.”
Even though family members had differing opinions about their decision, both Kristen and her husband were in agreement about the young man’s fate. “We did not want him to go to jail,” Kristen said. “But I knew I had to do something to give purpose to our daughter’s death.”
While Jake serves four years’ probation, he will eventually join Kristen in her new mission: “I address high school students about the dangers of impaired driving. I show them the news stories, share about that terrible day, as well as read McKenna’s Eulogy.”
When she is given opportunities, Kristen shares about God’s faithfulness through their time of unimaginable loss. She explains how this devastating experience changed many people in that “… God’s faithfulness has never wavered.”
Many members of the Keezer family have turned back to God. The witness, Tonya, has been sober for more than three years, and attended church after the accident for the first time in 13 years. Jake has begun to read his Bible and is learning about Jesus.
“While her physical life has ended, McKenna’s story has created testimonies for so many,” Kristen said. “And, now, God has placed on my heart to share my testimony as well as educate others on the perils of choices made. We may never know what lies ahead, and while we may not understand what is placed in front of us, it is important to know what we stand for and why, because HE could be preparing you for something so much bigger than anything you ever thought possible. I will continue talking about my daughter, who I know is in heaven, because she believed, but also because she confessed it in her words. This is McKenna’s legacy, and the purpose I sought.”
