Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Participants gathered at Jones Beach for the 2025 Walk Like MADD Long Island event on May 4, rallying on the boardwalk to raise awareness and funds to end impaired driving.
Hosted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also known as MADD, the event is the nonprofit’s signature fundraiser and aims to support victims of drunk and drugged driving, prevent underage drinking and drug use, and ultimately eliminate impaired driving.
Among the participants was Anthony DeVito, 37, of Wantagh, whose father, Joseph DeVito, was struck and killed by a drunk driver outside of a diner in Woodbury in January 2023 at age 61. Anthony also participated in last year’s walk and returned this year as a speaker, sharing memories of his father, his accomplishments, and the importance of keeping his legacy alive.
“It’s encouraging to see how many people are out and trying to make a difference with all of this,” he said.
Following the incident, Anthony and his family established the Joseph A. DeVito Memorial Foundation. Their first golf outing, held last year, raised more than $30,000 for various charities, including MADD.
Participants at the Walk Like MADD event walked along the boardwalk to honor victims and survivors of impaired driving. Signs and team shirts memorialized loved ones lost and supported those still affected.
Lynne Pallmeyer, of Central Islip, has been involved with MADD since 2016, after her sister, Karen Rogers-Holden, was killed by a drunk driver. Rogers-Holden, a nurse and mother of two, was 56 years old.
“She was just a wonderful, wonderful soul who just gave everything that she had every single day of her life,” Pallmeyer said.
MADD members visited Pallmeyer’s home two days after her sister’s death, offering support and guidance as her family navigated the grieving and legal process. Pallmeyer said sharing stories of victims helps people better understand the impact of impaired driving.
“It gives you strength to go on,” she said of the walk. “It gives you purpose, it makes you feel like it wasn’t for nothing.”
The Long Island walk is one of many held nationwide each year as part of MADD’s ongoing campaign to raise public awareness and funding for its programs and services.
Anthony said the walk is powerful because it brings together families affected by impaired driving and highlights MADD’s advocacy efforts, including support for lowering the legal blood alcohol content from .08 to .05 and pushing for stronger penalties for drug-impaired driving.
Pallmeyer said what happened to her sister could happen to anyone, and urged drivers to make safer choices—like calling a friend or an Uber instead of driving impaired, paying attention on the road, and avoiding speeding.
“I just wish that people would slow it down,” she said of drivers. “What’s the hurry?”
As of press time, the event had raised over $85,000 toward its goal of $165,000.
For more information about MADD or to contribute to the fundraising effort, visit madd.org.
