Mariah Daye McCarthy

Mariah was 14 years old when she was killed by an underage drunk driver. She was walking home with two of her best friends for a sleepover. The driver gave several different excuses about why he veered six feet off the road onto the pedestrian walkway and hit the three girls; one being that he was adjusting his stereo. The girls were thrown over 90 feet; their shoes remained at the point of impact. He later told a passerby that he thought he had hit a deer. He did not stop or call for help. Mariah's friends survived but Mariah died in a Missoula hospital.

Mariah was a freshman at Butte High School. She loved drawing angels, reading fantasy novels, writing short stories, and having fudge parties with her aunt and cousins. She especially loved traveling with her family. One of Mariah's favorite sayings was: Family is the essence that helps define our very identity. Family means believing, loving and supporting each other. Her father writes that "she loved her friends, relatives and her Irish heritage and was a big supporter of anything Butte. She was a good old soul in a beautiful teenager's body who enjoyed life."

Mariah's grandfather erected a wooden cross at the site and it is decorated on holidays and special occasions. The cross is located on Black Tail Lane in Butte.

The Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship Foundation is dedicated to education and the prevention of underage drinking and driving in Montana. The non-profit organization provides scholarships to students who uphold the foundation's ideals and supports education, events and dialogue in communities that promote healthy, responsible lifestyles. You can find out more information and donate to the scholarship fund at www.mariahschallenge.com.

March 12, 1993 -
October 28, 2007