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SALT LAKE CITY — There was a major outpouring of love and support for the family of a Utah dance teacher who was killed in a car accident Monday.
Lisa Stoddard, 45, died Monday morning at a local hospital from injuries suffered in the accident.
“She was loved by everyone,” said Krystal Sorensen, Stoddard’s younger sister. “She just had this motherly touch about her.”
Sorensen said Stoddard was the glue of the family.
“She was the oldest in our family, so she held us all together,” she said.
That love and influence spread to more than her family. Stoddard used dance — one of her many gifts — to touch others.
“She influenced not just close family members and friends, but students all over,” Sorensen said.
And that’s why Stoddard was on the road that morning — to be with her students. She was traveling to the airport to fly to New York City to support her BYU students in their Senior Dance Showcase.
Stoddard spent the last 21 years teaching dance, but her favorite student was her 16-year-old daughter.
“Her oldest daughter is an amazing dancer and one of her first questions was, ‘Will I still be able to dance?’“ Sorensen said.
If you could just describe or look up in a dictionary a perfect mother, that's what she was.
–Krystal Sorensen
Stoddard is the mother of four children — the oldest is 16 and the youngest will turn 8 in a few days.
“If you could just describe or look up in a dictionary a perfect mother, that’s what she was,” Sorensen said. “Even to me and my children she had this way of loving and making you feel loved.”
According to Utah Department of Public Safety spokesman Joe Dougherty, Stoddard spun her vehicle on northbound I-215 around 4 a.m. and hit a road barrier. Dougherty said Stoddard's vehicle was later hit by man driving a Mitsubishi Galant, who spun out in the same area before hitting Stoddard's vehicle.
The Utah Highway Patrol said the roads were wet at the time of the accident.
Stoddard’s brothers have set up a website* to help offer support to Stoddard’s family.
*KSL.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does KSL.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
