By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Goodrich ? Teenagers surveyed the remains of the navy blue Blazer, hood crumpled like paper, top folded back like a convertible, doors wrenched off the hinges, its concave windshield shattered into thousands of fragments.
The Chevy Blazer, sprawled on Goodrich High School’s front lawn during Red Ribbon week is a graphically twisted reminder of drinking and driving’s consequences. Goodrich senior Mike Palmer was pulled from the Blazer last year after being hit by a drunk driver.
‘I always thought it would never happen to me,? said Mike, 17, who suffered a head injury in the accident. ‘I will never drink and drive.?
Driving south on State Road from work last November, Mike recalls seeing more than one set of highlights coming over a hill toward him that night. Although the accident itself is still a blur, he recalls gaining consciousness to the sound of generators running while the emergency crew cut him out of the vehicle.
‘I asked if the driver was still in the car because I wanted to go hurt him,? said Mike.
Video footage of Mike detailing his experience, along with police footage of other drunk-driving accidents ran all week at Goodrich High School.
Senior Kristan Childress eyed the mangled wreckage. In its former driveable state, the Blazer was the spitting image of her own vehicle.
‘It’s horrible,? she said. ‘I don’t know what I would do. It’s amazing he survived with the shape it’s in.?
Mike’s story is a ‘real eye-opener?, said Kristan, who feels her generation is getting smarter about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Robert Lucas, the driver of the vehicle that crossed the double yellow line and hit Mike, also sustained injuries. He is now serving a two to five-year sentence for charges arising from the accident, said Randy Petrides, of the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office.