Brian Lewis/The Gazette Perry Mullsteff reads one of the scores of condolence cards that arrived after his son Sean died in a single-car crash in April. The former pastor has started a foundation in his son's name and plans to open a defensive driving school in the spring for teen drivers across the county.

Days after Perry Mullsteff's son Sean died in a car accident, Mullsteff resigned as pastor of Gaithersburg's Redeemer Church to take up a new calling -- preventing teenage car accidents.

"As a pastor, I thought I understood the depths of pain people experience -- I didn't have a clue," Mullsteff said.

Sean Mullsteff was the second of Sue and Perry Mullsteff's four children. Sean died in early April, shortly after his 19th birthday when his car bumped a curb, he overcorrected and yanked the wheel in the other direction, and it struck a tree. Police told the family he was driving 86 mph at the time of the accident.

"Sean was the joy of our family's life -- a great kid, a funny kid," Mullsteff said.

Pictures of Sean and a basket overflowing with condolence cards and letters fill one end of the family's living room. Some days Sue Mullsteff takes another route home to avoid driving past the memorial on Woodfield Road that marks the scene of the accident.

"Sean made one bad decision that night," Mullsteff said. "We learned the hard way that it takes thousands of hours behind the wheel in a supervised setting to produce a safe driver."

With tear-filled eyes Sue and Perry Mullsteff of Damascus talked about the foundation they are starting to teach teenagers defensive driving.

"Without it I don't know where I would be," Mullsteff said. "This has been what makes me get up in the morning."

The Mullsteffs thought they were careful parents and set strict rules for their children's driving they thought would ensure their safety.

"Neither Sue or I understood the concept of defensive driving," Mullsteff said.

The Sean Mullsteff Teen Driving Foundation will offer teenagers two-day courses in defensive driving. Classes will involve multimedia classroom presentations, simulators and behind-the-wheel lessons with trained instructors.

The foundation's program will stress the four A's -- attitude, awareness, aptitude and accountability.

Teenagers consider themselves invincible. That attitude, combined with distractions while driving, road rage and peer pressure, can lead to accidents.

Teens are often un-aware of the risks they may encounter while driving. Aptitude involves teaching teenagers how to control their cars during dangerous situations.

The accountability lesson is for parents. Parents should be aware of their teenagers driving and ultimately be accountable for ensuring their teenagers drive safely.

"With technology you can know 24/7 where your kids are and if they're breaking the law," Mullsteff said. "We want Mom and Dad to know you're not powerless, there's a lot you can do."

Perry Mullsteff has appeared on television and spoken to teenagers about the driving decisions they make and the ramifications of their decisions. His children PJ, 20, Chelsea, 17, and Ryan,14, often help at presentations with the slide show, which includes pictures of Sean's collision.

Students from Damascus High School health education classes wrote to Mullsteff after he spoke to their classes admitting they drove too fast or with too many passengers in the car. They wrote that they would not do that again.

"I think it's powerful for kids to see the pictures of Sean, a handsome guy, cool kid, but he was not drinking," Sue Mullsteff said.

Comcast Cable has started a public service campaign that directs people to the Mullsteff foundation. The campaign focuses on the words "drive, think, live." Black wristbands with those words are being sent to county high schools.

Mullsteff is also working with the Brain Injury Association of Maryland.

"They want to work with us to blanket the elementary schools and start a prevention program," Mullsteff said.

Driving schools only aim to teach students to pass state licensing exams, they do not teach good driving skills, Mullsteff said.

Mullsteff has done a lot of research on driving programs in the last nine months.

He plans to visit the Collision Avoidance Training program in Florida and the Advanced Driving Program in California. He and PJ recently took a one-day course in West Virginia through Bill Scott Racing on how to keep control of a car in dangerous situations.

"These are all components we'll put in our program," Mullsteff said.

So far 5,000 teenagers have graduated from the Florida program and more than 7,000 have graduated from the California program, and not one graduate has been killed in an auto accident, Mullsteff said. The accident rate for program graduates is much lower than the rate for teenagers the same age, he said.

The Mullsteff Foundation driving school will have a skid car and track so students can get experience controlling a car through an emergency such as skidding on ice or hydroplaning through rain, Mullsteff said. Students will also drive in their own vehicles with experienced instructors.

The Mullsteff Foundation is the first Montgomery County nonprofit group offering a driver safety course, said Montgomery County Police Capt. Luther Reynolds.

Reynolds is a member of the foundation's board.

"He has a plan I think will provide a school with the best results of any school available," Reynolds said. Mullsteff has met with Police Chief Thomas Manger, who is also supportive of the program, Reynolds said.

"I'm convinced with his passion and his start already, he can prevent at least one teen death or injury," Reynolds said. "He's a wonderful man who really feels called to make a difference."

Mullsteff hopes to begin offering classes in the spring. The fee will be minimal, something around $300. Scholarships will be available for students who cannot afford the fee, Mullsteff said.

The foundation has filed paperwork to get nonprofit status, which will make donations tax deductible. The organization is waiting until its application is approved to begin major fund-raising.

For now the foundation is looking for volunteers to help with fund-raising, set up classroom programs and prepare the driving school curriculum, mail letters, make phone calls, write grant proposals, maintain the computers and do maintenance on the school's cars.