TAMPA, Fla — One woman who was born and raised in Tampa has a message for everyone this holiday weekend: don't drink and drive.
Linda Unfried lost her sister, Josie Palomino, after a drunk driver hit Josie head on. It happened October 29, 1983.
Unfried still remembers the knock on her door like it was yesterday.
"I knew it was too late," Unfried recalled, choking back tears, "I knew at that point she didn’t make it."
Unfried said her sister was driving down Waters Avenue when a 17-year-old intoxicated boy sped toward her.
"He continued down Waters Avenue at 80 miles per hour until he found something to stop his car," Unfried explained.
Unfried explained what stopped his car was hitting her sister head on.
"Witnesses at the scene said my sister tried to avoid him. He came straight at her. He hit her head on, flipping her car three times," Unfried recalled.
Josie died at the scene of the crash on Waters Avenue near Manhattan Avenue in Tampa.
"It was extremely tragic and it didn’t have to happen. Impaired driving is preventable," Unfried stated.
As the holiday weekend approaches, Unfried wants everyone to listen to her.
"Please don’t do it," Unfried pleaded. She's asking everyone to find a designated driver or use a ride share service.
The death of her sister led her to becoming the co-founder for the Hillsborough County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
"If this message saves one life then it’s not in vain. I’ve been going 38 years and I’m not stopping now," Unfried stated.