PAYSON -- Brandon Silveria knows too well the cost of three beers. He's paid the price for nearly a decade.
At 17, Silveria, a popular, handsome California student with an athlete's build, wrapped his car around a tree driving home from a party. Paramedics who responded to the late-night scene smelled alcohol on his breath.Emergency workers and doctors didn't think he would survive the severe brain injuries suffered during the accident. Connected to tubes and monitors, he sank deep into a coma for nearly three months.
"I'm told I'm lucky I'm here today. I had my seat belt on and I'm sure that's why I'm still here," Silveria says in slow, slurred speech that at times is difficult to understand.
"I had the world at my fingertips," he said. "Within seconds it was all gone."
Silveria's story, which has been re-enacted by the television show "Rescue 911," captivated an auditorium of students Monday at Payson High School.
Silveria tells students he had everything -- a job, girlfriend, plans for the future -- until he downed a few drinks and sat at the wheel of a car.
Driving home, he fell asleep, crossed the center line and rammed into a tree.
He spoke about the dangers of drunken driving with his father, Tony, and Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah. They also spoke at Granger High School Monday night.
"We need to stop illegal underage drinking and driving before it starts," Cannon said. "The only way to achieve that goal is to educate in the classroom and at home."
Silveria, whose brain injuries were so severe that doctors were forced to re-teach him to walk, talk, eat and swallow, has talked to more than 500,000 students nationwide about the dangerous mix of alcohol and automobiles.
His family also has appeared on NBC's "Today" show, "Leeza" and "Extra."
"Do you know how hard it is to sound like this?" he asked the packed auditorium of quiet teenagers. "It hurts so much to want to be normal."
Brandon Silveria hopes to live independently someday, although he suffers severe seizures. Despite his condition, he continues to work with the Century Council, a nonprofit group funded by the country's leading distillers that is dedicated toward stopping teenage drinking and driving.
"Teens don't want to go through what Brandon has been through," Tony Silveria said.