Lisa Foster was an elementary school teacher. She loved playing softball, teaching, the Orioles and Cal Ripken. Lis was the fun one and so full of life. She had accomplished so much in her short 23 years. You always knew the things Lisa was passionate for as she was someone who would go big for the things and people she loved.
One evening after a softball game, she was taking home two teammates when an underage drunk driver crossed over the centerline hitting her car head on. Lisa did pull the wheel to the right, but the road she was travelling on was just a small two lane road and bordered with a concrete wall on that side of the road. The drunk driver was travelling 80+ mph. Lisa was killed on impact. Her two passengers survived one being her best friend who was trapped and had to have the Jaws of Life used to remove her from the car. An off-duty state police officer witnessed the erratic driving by the underage drunk driver and called for help while following him. He was sentenced to 10 years but served less than 18 months.
After losing Lisa in 2003, we called the hotline and spoke to Jan Withers. She was very helpful and came from a place where she completely understood what our family was going through. Our first Walk was MADD’s Strides for Change in June of 2007. We joined the Walk to educate others on this 100% preventable crime and we felt since Lisa was a school teacher what better way to bring awareness to this cause. We also wanted to make a difference so no other family has to endure the loss of a family member.
Every year we are so touched by how many people are on our team and continue to support Team Lisa. Team Lisa has always been the largest team in Baltimore and we take great pride in that. After the Walk every year we come back to my house and have a party full of food, prizes and fun. Lisa gets us all together every year so we make it a celebration.
Everyone should attend a Walk Like MADD to raise awareness and help us make a difference, so no other family has to endure this senseless and preventable tragedy of drunk driving. The Baltimore Walk Like MADD event will be held on September 22, 2018. Will you walk to create a future of No More Victims? Go to www.walklikemadd.org/baltimore for more information.
