Her dad says Krista touched many people in her short life. That's why he organized the vigil in her honor.
The vigil was held at her home. Her funeral was this past weekend, but Krista's family says they wanted to give her friends a place to grieve.
Troopers say she ran off the road and crashed into a fence late last Tuesday evening.
Krista had recently graduated from Durham School of the Arts with a 4.0 GPA. She was planning to go to nursing school.
"She herself had a congenital heart defect. She had three open heart surgeries," said Krista's mother, Lynn Smith. "She's been through a lot and hoped to be able to give some of that back with becoming a nurse -- working on or in surgery."
Now they hope her memory and the good life she led will be example enough for those she left behind.
While it is unclear when caused the accident, those who live in that area say it's a dangerous area for drivers.
"There's just a lot of curves. It's just too dangerous," said Jessica Hulick, who has only lived on Goodwin Road for a year.
She's already seen five accidents on the road where it dead ends into Infinity Road, which is where Smith lost her life.
"There is a curve right here that's very dangerous and cars going the regular speed limit drive off all the time," said Hulick. "I don't understand why the speed limit has to be 45."
Her parents say Krista wasn't drinking or using her cell phone at the time of the wreck. They can only guess if weather or maybe a deer in the road caused her to lose control.
However, Hulick believes the combination of the speed limit and lack of lighting on the roads definitely played a role in Krista's death.
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