BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Alby Powers’ dream was to serve the United States by protecting its coast.

A tragic accident dashed that ambition.

Decades later, Powers’ dream did come true as he became an honorary Coast Guard member Wednesday.

For 23 years, Powers has been limited to his wheelchair after he was hit by a drunk driver in Palm Bay when he was 17.

His truck flipped, his arm was severed, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Powers was in a coma for a year, with little chance to make it and in danger of becoming a statistic after another driver in Florida got behind the wheel under the influence.

More than 37,000 drivers were arrested on DUI charges in Florida last year alone.

But Powers did make it.

"When he got hurt, I had all these postcards coming in the mail from the Coast Guard, and I asked his friends, ‘What's this all about?' " said Alby's mother, Pattie Powers.

Before the accident, Powers had dreamed of joining the U.S. Coast Guard.

He now is an adult client of Bridges, a United Way of Brevard partner agency. The group provides him a place to live and is teaching him how to feed himself and even move his wheelchair with his feet.

But at 40 years old, his journey from land to sea became complete Wednesday when his fellow crewmates lifted him onto one of their boats.

"This is my dream, but this is more than my dream," Powers said.

The crowd applauded as one of his fellow crew mates declared, "You're officially a member of the crew now!”

"Let's go hit the waves!" the newest crew member shouted.