Candy Lightner (born 1946) transformed a personal tragedy into a crusade against drunk driving. She founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a grass-roots organization dedicated to curbing alcohol-related traffic deaths.

Lightner was born May 30, 1946, to Dykes Charles Dodderidge and Katherine Dodderidge in Pasadena, California. She graduated from high school in 1964. After attending American River College in Sacramento, she married Steve Lightner, who was a U.S. Air Force serviceman like her father. Together they had three children. After her divorce from Steve, Candy Lightner supported herself by selling real estate in Fair Oaks, California. She had lived there for eight years when her life was turned upside down by tragedy on May 3, 1980.

Lightner's 13-year-old daughter Cari, while walking down a quiet street, was struck from behind by a car. The impact threw Cari 125 feet, knocking off her shoes and mutilating her body so badly that it was not possible to...