On March 11, 2023, Beth McBride’s life changed forever. What should have been a night of celebration for her son Bobby Dewbre’s 21st birthday ended in unimaginable tragedy. After celebrating with friends, Bobby was crossing the street to catch a sober ride home when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver.
In the wake of her son’s death, McBride, 57, retreated from the world, spending nearly six weeks isolated in her home, grappling with a grief so profound it seemed impossible to bear. During this time, her daughter, Carli Seymour, 28, became her steady presence, driving daily to sit with her mother and offer quiet comfort through the darkest moments.
From the depths of her loss, McBride found a new purpose. Determined to prevent other families from experiencing the same heartbreak, she launched a campaign aimed at changing the culture around drinking and driving in Montana. Part of her effort involves leaving small gifts on cars parked overnight at bars—an act designed to remind patrons to make responsible choices before getting behind the wheel.
“It’s a way to honor Bobby’s memory while making people pause and think about the consequences of their actions,” McBride said.
Her initiative is more than symbolic. By directly engaging with the community, McBride hopes to spark conversations about sober rides, responsible drinking, and the ripple effects of impaired driving. Through personal tragedy, she has become a powerful advocate for safer roads, determined that Bobby’s death will not be in vain.
One early morning, while driving to see her mother, Carli Seymour noticed cars parked overnight outside a local bar. The sight sparked an idea.
“I thought about pulling over and writing with my finger on their windshield, ‘Thank you for not drinking and driving,’” Seymour told PEOPLE exclusively.
Instead, she called her mother and said, “Mom, I wish there was a way to thank people for not driving home drunk.”
Her words sparked something in Beth McBride. In the midst of her grief, a new purpose began to take shape. Together, mother and daughter started brainstorming ways to transform their pain into a meaningful act.
It was Seymour who suggested leaving a simple cup of coffee as a gesture for anyone returning to pick up their car the next day.
“Since I worked at a coffee shop at the time, I wondered if the owner might donate coffee cards so we could give people a free cup and a small memorial to my brother,” she explained.
Building on their idea, McBride and Seymour founded a nonprofit, Montana Bar Fairies, dedicated to preventing drunk driving, supporting grieving families, and advocating for stronger DUI laws.
Since January 1, 2024, volunteers have quietly carried out these missions every weekend in towns across Montana. “You never know where it will be,” McBride says. “It’s a fun surprise!”
Just before sunrise, two volunteers don reflective vests and walk through bar parking lots and nearby streets, searching for cars left overnight.
In places like Central Avenue in Whitefish, Montana—where late-night parking is restricted—a parked car often signals that its owner made the responsible choice to avoid driving drunk.
The team sets out with a mission: leave 20 $5 coffee gift cards on vehicle windshields as small tokens recognizing the choice not to drive under the influence.
“We don’t always know whose car belongs to whom, but it doesn’t matter. We are spreading awareness and positivity anyway,” McBride says.
She recalls stories of gratitude from unexpected recipients. “We’ve had employees thank us for a card even though they weren’t out the night before. They said they’d keep it to pay it forward to a friend or bar patron. I love that!”
Each card bears the face of a local person who died from drunk driving. Even when it lands in the hands of a stranger, it carries the power to make someone pause, reflect, and remember the real consequences of impaired driving.
