EVERETT, Wash. -- Her eyesight has been fading since she was a baby because of a genetic disorder and now Ali Steenis is legally blind, although she still has very limited vision and is a mainstream student at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish.
Her dream of driving a car was never going to come true until her classmates came up with a plan. They used strings of Christmas lights and reflectors to build a lighted course in the high school parking lot.
On Saturday, her 18th birthday, Ali got behind the wheel of a driver's education car with an instructor and drove three laps, as about 100 classmates and volunteers from Home Depot cheered.
She said her favorite part was hitting the gas.
