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Family hopes daughter's accident sends sober holiday message

ATLANTA — Lynn Holt wishes she had a chance to have another conversation with her daughter about alcohol and getting a safe ride home.

Instead, she hopes her daughter's tragedy will be a strong message toward other young people who plan to toast New Year's Eve.

Erin Holt, 24, is slowly recovering at the Shepherd Center in Buckhead.  The former soccer player at Walton High School and Armstrong Atlantic State University is now struggling to move.

"She's tough. She's tough and she's always found a way to get it done," father Ben Holt told Channel 2's Linda Stouffer.

Erin arrived at the Shepherd Center just before Thanksgiving. She was critically injured in an accident in south Georgia on Halloween night after partying with friends.

The Georgia State Patrol said a truck tire struck her head. The driver was charged with hit-and-run and driving under the influence. Holt spent a month in a coma.

"No mom, no parent, no one wants to get that phone call at 2:57 in the morning. Just be safe," Lynn Holt said.

The Holts want holiday drinkers to think of Erin's struggle and to find a secure, safe, sober way home.

"It only takes one second, one second to change everything," Ben Holt said.

The family has adopted a motto for Erin's recovery: "Push Forward."

"Every day there is progress. It might be small but it's still progress," sister Ragan Holt said.

You can continue to track Erin Holt's recovery on her website www.pushforward25.com.