Foundation provides community for scholarship recipient

Foundation provides community for scholarship recipient

Student’s father killed in work zone crash before her birth

Taylor Lingafelter, second from right, with her stepfather, brother and mother, attended the ATSS Foundation’s Golf Classic Tournament in February.

Taylor Lingafelter can only get to know her father through photos and what others tell her about him.

Lewis Lingafelter Jr., 27, was killed in a work zone crash on the Tri-State Tollway in the Chicago suburbs when his wife was still pregnant with Taylor.

Today, Taylor attends Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) where she is working toward a degree in biology and medical science with hopes of becoming a dentist or oral surgeon.

If it weren’t for the ATSS Foundation Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship she received before starting college, SIUE and her career goals would probably have been out of reach, Taylor and her mother, Marissa Lingafelter-Born, told Roadway Safety magazine for an article in the Spring Issue.

Taylor received a scholarship for her freshman year of college and was awarded a second one for her upcoming sophomore year.

The Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship was created for the benefit of dependents and spouses of roadway workers killed or permanently disabled in a work zone crash. Recipients can apply for a scholarship each year of their post-high school education.

Taylor said the program has given her a sense of community, being part of a group that has experienced the same tragedy that befell her and her family.

Read more about Taylor’s story in the Spring Issue of Roadway Safety magazine.

Roadway Safety magazine is the flagship publication of the American Traffic Safety Services Association.