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Lisa Markland, 45, of Germantown has huge scars all over her body, the result of more than 300 surgeries and operative procedures since she was hit by a car driven by an alleged drunken driver 30 years ago.

The driver ran a red light and hit Markland, who was walking with the light in the crosswalk, in 1979 in Minneapolis, she said. The driver did not face criminal charges. Markland's family filed a civil lawsuit and settled for $15,000, Markland said.

"For me this was 30 years ago, [in] October, but it's like living it every day," said Markland, 45, whose maiden name is Bard. "I've had over 300 surgeries. And it's ongoing. I mean, it will probably always be ongoing."

Markland's photo will be featured alongside other victims of drunken drivers next week at the sixth annual Maryland Remembers vigil in Annapolis sponsored by the Maryland State Highway Safety Office and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a nonprofit organization that seeks to stop drunken driving, support those affected by drunken driving, prevent underage drinking and push for stricter alcohol policies.

Close to hearts and minds too will be Steven Dankos, a 17-year-old football player at River Hill High School in Ellicott City who was killed Sunday when the pickup truck he was riding in struck three stone pillars and flipped over. Howard County Police have charged the truck's driver, 22-year-old David Erdman, with driving under the influence, homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated and manslaughter by motor vehicle. Erdman's 17-year-old brother Thomas, who had been riding in the front passenger seat, was also critically injured.

The holiday season — which started the Friday before Thanksgiving and runs through Jan. 3 — is the most dangerous time to be on the road nationwide, according to MADD statistics. Each year, more than 1,000 people die in crashes caused by drunken drivers between Thanksgiving and New Year's, according to MADD.

Not even a year after the crash that damaged her body, Markland began talking about her experience to Minnesota teenagers to make sense of what had happened, she said. She spoke at some of MADD's first vigils in Minnesota and for the past nine years, has given talks to students at Montgomery County Public Schools, as well as drunken drivers through the county Department of Corrections' Alternative Community Services Program, which requires underage offenders to do community service.

"People always say it's a first-time offense. I usually say, ‘No, it's the first time you're caught," said Markland, referring to statistics that show most drunken drivers have driven drunk prior to the first time they are arrested.

According to statistics compiled by MADD, about one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving under the influence are repeat offenders. Drivers who have been convicted of a DUI are 40 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those without prior DUIs.

What strikes her most about talks with teenagers, Markland said, is how many of them tell her that they had considered how their lives could be ruined by drinking and driving — but not the damage they could do to others.

"We live each day day-to-day and go from there," said her husband, Dave Markland, whom she married in September. "It doesn't define her. She is who she is."

Markland, who was born in Silver Spring, has used a wheelchair since the crash and is trying to walk again with help of a new brace.

Long-term memory, remembering names and following directions can be difficult, said Markland.

Most of her adult life has been spent in surgery and recovery. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and received a masters' degree in clinical social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

She began working adolescent inpatient psychiatry for Prince George's Hospital Center in 1992, but Markland only worked fulltime about six months, she said. From 1991-2000, she provided therapy part-time to private clients at the Frost Counseling Center in Rockville.

Markland spent almost three years in the hospital from 2005 to 2008 having operative procedures, she said. She continues to have regular iron infusions and regular surgery for problems with internal organs and gastrointestinal and orthopedic problems, she said.

"There's really nothing there," she said of her smashed knees and bones. "It's kind of held together with wishes and muscles and glue."