Why We Do What We Do, Featuring Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) President Alex Otte
At age 13, Alex Otte's life changed forever. At a lake in Kentucky with her family, Otte was on a jet ski when a 17-foot bass boat slammed into her at nearly 70 miles per hour. The boat operator was intoxicated. Suffering a severe brain injury, a broken neck and collarbone, a shattered jaw, a lacerated liver, two shattered femurs, and the loss of her right leg below the knee, doctors had little hope Otte would survive. However, against the odds, Otte not only survived but she has thrived.
After her family joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Otte became involved as a volunteer. In 2014, Otte served as a National Teen Influencer for MADD and the next year was awarded MADD’s National Youth Activist of the Year award for her work to pass ignition interlock legislation in her state. Focused on supporting victims and their families, Otte spoke out in support of Marsy's Law for Kentucky in 2018 and again in 2020. In 2021, Otte became the youngest president of MADD in the organization's history.