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<\/p>\n\n Rio Foster and his mother during his time at Clarke Central High in Athens, Ga. (Joshua L. Jones via Imagn Content Services, LLC)<\/p>\n<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n
Foster gazes right into your eyes, but with the blank look of someone not actually seeing you. He\u2019s there, but he isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Sometimes he won\u2019t say anything when you talk to him. Sometimes he\u2019ll respond, or proactively talk on his own. The other day, he woke Oliver up to demand the remote. He\u2019s asked for a haircut. He\u2019s talked about his favorite baseball team, the Dodgers. That Sunday, he said he wanted to listen to rapper Rod Wave.<\/p>\n
The moments when he shows any flash of his former self are intoxicating for his mother, sparking both hopes and memories.<\/p>\n
Scrolling through her phone, Cleveland stopped processing the interview questions being asked of her. She was chuckling at old photos of her son.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks so serious,\u201d she said, smiling at one photo. \u201cHe used to be a catcher,\u201d she said, showing another. Asked about the accident, and how it impacted her relationship with her son, Cleveland remained inside her happy memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s him at 6 years old,\u201d she said, showing a picture of Foster with a bunny.<\/p>\n
Cleveland\u2019s opportunities for even the briefest of reprieves from reality are few and far between.<\/p>\n
For everyone involved in this tragedy, reminders are continual. For Foster\u2019s family. For the driver, who sits in a jail cell, repeating the same thoughts in a loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s horrible,\u201d Sanders-Jackson said in a jailhouse phone call with The Athletic. \u201cI never meant to put anybody\u2019s life in jeopardy, including myself. Any of us could have died that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think about Rio every day. I pray for him every day since I\u2019ve been in here. Same with his mom. I know she\u2019s very angry with me, but I pray for her too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleveland\u2019s perspective, however, is nuanced, with two competing thoughts. One is a desire for justice. Someone should pay for the damage done to her son, and the future that\u2019s been robbed from him.<\/p>\n
But she also knows her son was drunk and chose not to wear a seatbelt. It was his decision to get in that car, with that driver, under those circumstances.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s asked prosecutors to pursue at least a two-year jail sentence for Sanders-Jackson. Plea deal negotiations, however, are in the range of 12-14 months, with probation to follow. Sanders-Jackson has requested delays to finalizing a plea agreement, hoping that an improvement to Foster\u2019s condition will lead Cleveland, or Foster himself, to request a more lenient sentence. Foster\u2019s family sued Sanders-Jackson\u2019s insurance, though a short-term resolution is not expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something tragic that happened,\u201d Cleveland said. \u201cAnd to blame somebody for it, legally, that\u2019s what\u2019s in your mind. But to be honest with you, I can\u2019t blame anybody. Because if you\u2019re going to blame someone, you got to blame him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, she said of Sanders-Jackson\u2019s potential sentence, \u201cEven if you say 24 months, that\u2019s two years. He could potentially have this for the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two witnesses who saw the crash and dialed 9-1-1 noted how little attention Sanders-Jackson paid to Foster, who lay alone in the middle of the road. The driver\u2019s sister, Chloe Sanders, was also ejected from the back seat. Ashante, along with Arianna Lozano \u2014 another friend who was a passenger in the car \u2014 spent their time tending to Chloe, whose injuries were ultimately far less severe than Foster\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to seem like a bad person,\u201d said Sanders-Jackson, who did not dispute the witness\u2019 version of events. \u201cI don\u2019t want this mistake to define me.\u201d<\/p>\n
To Sanders-Jackson, Foster was just a guy she\u2019d met at a bar earlier in the summer, and had kept up with via text message periodically.<\/p>\n
Their meet-up at the Daisy Ranch Saloon in Richland, Washington that night, Sanders-Jackson said, wasn\u2019t planned. His decision to jump in their car and head to an afterparty came when he saw them about to drive off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis all happened in under 10 minutes,\u201d Lozano said. \u201cEverything happened so fast. We were just having a good time. The music was blasting. I just rolled up my window, and that\u2019s when I saw Ashante going over the roundabout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster was intubated in the field. The right side of his skull was broken. He suffered from sinus fractures and had a traumatic brain injury that continues to restrict his ability to move.<\/p>\n
Eight hours after the accident, Cleveland was notified of what happened \u2014 receiving the call while sitting in a classroom full of her students. She only grasped the severity of the crash when a doctor asked her wishes for resuscitation efforts, should they be needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI prayed the whole time. Every time I fell asleep, I would think about him and just wake up,\u201d Cleveland said of the cross-country flight, which included a layover in Denver. \u201cYou\u2019re not thinking clearly. All you\u2019re trying to do is get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/RioFoster_Downpage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Rio Foster at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, with his mother and center staff. (Photos by Sam Blum)<\/p>\n
In the Shepherd Center, four months later, Oliver, Foster\u2019s girlfriend, pours liquid food into a tube connected to a part of his body covered up by a blanket. Foster\u2019s right hand makes an involuntary movement, as it often does.<\/p>\n
Oliver is angry, and she texts Foster every day, to this day, to express it. \u201cI am very mad at him, and upset. I feel like we had plans. I\u2019m selfishly angry. Why did you get into a car with a girl,\u201d she said, looking at him as her voice elevated.<\/p>\n
She had expected a call from Foster that night, and doesn\u2019t understand why he went out drinking without telling her. She has no idea why he was in that car.<\/p>\n
She chooses to trust him, she said, but the void created by a lack of answers is filled with anxiety and anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no sympathy for (the driver) whatsoever,\u201d she said. \u201cI hate that she walked away unscathed. I hate that she talked to him, or that he talked to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those closest to Rio are all thirsty for answers. Cleveland spent time in Washington revisiting the crash site, fruitlessly looking for an explanation as to what happened. She found skid marks from a crash, but little else.<\/p>\n
Before his discharge, Cleveland made the trip every single day to Atlanta, through rush hour traffic, just for the chance to sit next to her son.<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll be there for him, no matter what, and will talk to him every time she\u2019s with him, whether or not he responds.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time before I leave, we have this little pep talk,\u201d she said, hoping that the message somehow reaches him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018I understand that it looks bad. I understand that it doesn\u2019t feel good. But we need you to fight. We need you to do this. You\u2019ve got to be strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does he hear that?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Cleveland said confidently. \u201cHis eyes perk up every time I say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Foster was first injured, the Angels paid for Cleveland\u2019s travel to Washington, and for hotel expenses. The team had someone in the hospital, checking up on Foster\u2019s family, and offering support.<\/p>\n
But at no point have the Angels offered to cover any of Foster\u2019s medical costs. And with the new season beginning in February, Foster is at risk of losing his insurance through the team. It\u2019s up to the Angels, Cleveland said, to keep him covered or not.<\/p>\n
Though a team official did visit in November, communication with the club has become minimal over the last three months. Oliver\u2019s brother regularly refreshes Foster\u2019s roster page online to make sure he hasn\u2019t been released by the organization.<\/p>\n
The MLB Players Association, which represents minor league players, will look into the situation to make sure the Angels are operating within the Collective Bargaining Agreement, according to a source briefed on the union\u2019s thinking who spoke anonymously to discuss a sensitive topic.<\/p>\n
If the Angels do not keep Foster insured, Cleveland said she will be unable to afford COBRA coverage costs, which she estimates will exceed $1,000 a month. On top of that, Foster will have numerous expenditures that are not covered by insurance.<\/p>\n
That includes accessibility features throughout their home. He\u2019ll need a special van for his movements, one with a specific entrance to account for his tall stature. It\u2019s priced at north of $40,000, to be paid out of pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be the right thing to do. Legally they don\u2019t have to,\u201d Cleveland said of the team potentially assisting. \u201cI don\u2019t have any legal backing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a great thing to do. It would be wonderful. But billionaires are billionaires because they don\u2019t give people money.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Angels did send Cleveland a link to the Baseball Assistance Team website. B.A.T. is a service through MLB, designed to assist those in and around baseball during times of crisis or need.<\/p>\n
It is unclear what level of assistance B.A.T. could provide if Foster\u2019s grant is eventually approved. Cleveland said she initially had difficulty communicating with B.A.T. and receiving instructions on how to properly apply for a grant.<\/p>\n
B.A.T did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for MLB, speaking on behalf of B.A.T., declined to answer questions about Foster, citing a policy against discussing individual situations publicly.<\/p>\n
Cleveland said B.A.T. called her for the first time the day after The Athletic approached the organization for this story, and has since assisted her in the process of filling out an application.<\/p>\n
While teams and leagues are not required to cover medical expenses related to injuries that occur outside the scope of a player\u2019s professional responsibilities, there is precedent for that type of assistance.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the Phillies covered insurance and numerous other costs after prospect Daniel Brito\u2019s brain hemorrhage<\/a>. The Red Sox covered medical costs for top prospect Ryan Westmoreland in 2010, after a malformation in his brain required multiple surgeries.<\/p>\n Former minor league pitcher Matt LaChappa suffered a heart attack in 1996 while warming up for a game; he has difficulty walking and speaking. The Padres sign him to a minor league contract every year to keep him insured. Similarly, the Dodgers sign former outfielder Andrew Toles to an annual contract to keep him insured as he deals with mental health disorders.<\/p>\n The most help that Cleveland has received from the Angels so far came from their players. All-Star pitcher Yusei Kikuchi donated $10,000 to Foster\u2019s GoFundMe<\/a>, and outfielder Jo Adell gave $5,000. Foster received a $1,000 donation from the Tyler Skaggs Foundation<\/a>, an organization started by former pitcher\u2019s family, who recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the Angels.<\/p>\n A host of other Angels players and coaches, as well as minor leaguers from across the sport, also donated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just feeling for him and his family. Baseball is one thing, but life is something else,\u201d Adell said in September, when asked about his donation. \u201cIt was a no-brainer. I know a lot of the guys have stepped up and done their part. Prayers for the family. I hope he can fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n Foster has shown signs of progress, but ultimately not enough to extend his stay at the Shepherd Center. He\u2019s moved from a vegetative state to communicating and processing information inconsistently.<\/p>\n His progress isn\u2019t stagnant. There\u2019s hope that he\u2019ll continue to regain mental functions, and with them, physical abilities.<\/p>\n But for now, Foster is still completely dependent on help, and constant physical therapy. There\u2019s a divot in his head from his brain surgeries, and he makes movements that appear involuntary. When he does talk, it can sometimes not make sense. For example, he recently called his mother Bianca \u2014 a name that has no connection to their family.<\/p>\n Cleveland wants to believe her son can play baseball again. But, she adds, \u201cI\u2019m not delusional. I know the severity of the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n Every day she wonders, pragmatically, about their path forward.<\/p>\n Will her son stay on insurance? Will insurance even cover his care? How can she pay for out-of-pocket costs?<\/p>\n Can she gain legal guardianship, she wonders. Will he get on disability? What will his life look like if and when she\u2019s not there to help him?<\/p>\n But then, there are those little moments that let her escape those questions, that allow her to feel like her hope isn\u2019t delusional at all.<\/p>\n Cleveland isn\u2019t a crier. In fact, she didn\u2019t cry when she first saw her son in his hospital bed, even as family and friends, one by one, walked into that room and broke down in tears.<\/p>\n There was one small word, however, that made her break down for the first time since this nightmare began. It was just before the new year, and she told her son, as she always does, that she loved him.<\/p>\n To that point, Foster had only mimicked speech. He would repeat things, or say something when told to say it. This time he responded, \u201cI love you too.\u201d<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t just mimicking. He was independently and intentionally expressing his love. It was the first real indication that her son, deep down, was still there.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just like, \u2018Oh my god,\u2019\u2019\u2019 Cleveland said. The weight of everything lifted, just for a second. \u201cI got on the phone and told everybody who would listen. That meant so much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 \u201cShow me a cutter, Rio. How do you throw a cutter?\u201d Four months ago, Rio Foster…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":515540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1285,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-515539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-los-angeles-angels","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115893625700559254","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}