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Sandra Yi Reporting Utah Highway Patrol troopers and police say people are getting the message about drunk driving. Troopers made fewer DUI arrests this New Year's than in past years, but their message is still important.
Police always send out the message -- if you choose to drink, don't get behind the wheel. One woman can tell you how dangerous it can be. On New Year's Eve she made sure she had a designated driver, but she was hit by someone who wasn't as responsible.
Lindsay Collins started the New Year in the hospital.
Lindsay Collins: "Oh, it could have been a lot worse for me."
An hour into the new year her holiday celebration took a dangerous turn. A friend was driving her home after a party.
Lindsay Collins: "We were driving down Highland Drive, and the only thing I remember happening was seeing a car turn in front of us."
Police told her the driver of that car was drunk. Lindsay was buckled in the back, middle seat.
Lindsay Collins: "And when we hit her, my face slammed into the seat in front of me, which I broke most of the bones in my eye, and in my nose, and collapsed a bunch of things here."
State police say there are more DUI related crashes during the New Year's holiday. The Utah Highway Patrol didn't do its blitz this year, but in Salt Lake County troopers saturated the highways and made 10 DUI arrests.
The promising news is the number is fewer than in past years. The UHP believes people are getting the message.
Sgt. Brian Smith, Utah Highway Patrol: "And we see that in the fact that there were no fatalities or serious crashes, which usually accompany driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs."
Lindsay feels lucky to be alive. She says if you choose to drink, follow her example.
Lindsay Collins: "I found someone to drive me home. Don't drink and drive, it's easy to find someone to come and get you."
Lindsay needs a couple of surgeries, so she'll have to miss the next semester of school. But the good news is she's expected to make a full recovery.
As for the woman who hit the car Lindsay was in, investigators say she was driving with a suspended license. She was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
