On New Year’s Eve 2022, a devastating crash in Addis, Louisiana, took the lives of 17-year-old Maggie Dunn and 16-year-old Caroline Gill. A police officer ran a red light during a high-speed chase, slamming into the girls’ car and killing them instantly. Maggie’s brother was seriously injured but miraculously survived. The officer later pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to prison.
One of Maggie’s closest friends, LSU student and American Idol hopeful John Foster, turned his grief into music. During his emotional Idol journey, Foster returned to the stage with an original song, “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” written in honor of Maggie and Caroline. Tearfully performing in front of the girls’ families, he dedicated the heartfelt lyrics to “two friends I wish I had known better.”
Wearing the same hat Maggie once saw him perform in, Foster honored her memory in a deeply personal way. Her mother, Erin Martin, called the tribute “a physical manifestation of the love and light Maggie left behind.”
With moving lyrics like “Every tear that falls on my guitar feels like a distant hug,” John Foster’s performance became more than a song — it became a living tribute to friendship, loss, and healing.
