Seth Mutschler has drifted in and out of consciousness for the past week, struggling to remember what happened on the night of March 13.

"Call Samara," he told his father, Bill Mutschler. "Samara knows what happened."

Samara Stricklen, 17, was killed and Mutschler, 20, was seriously injured after an SUV crashed head on into their car on West Alameda Parkway near West Florida Drive in Lakewood. Police suspect the 16-year-old driver of the SUV had been drinking.

Members of Mutschler's family spoke to the media for the first time Tuesday at St. Anthony Central Hospital after doctors upgraded Mutschler from critical to serious condition.

Mutschler, who was driving, suffered broken legs and ribs, a crushed ankle, cuts and internal injuries, his father said.

"He's coming along really well," Bill Mutschler said. "He's starting to respond. He has absolutely no memory of what happened."

Seth Mutschler thought he had just returned to Colorado when he woke up in his hospital bed, said his father. He was planning a road trip in two weeks to Washington to attend his sister's wedding.

"I haven't cried because I have to be strong for all of my children and for all of Seth's amazing friends," said his mom, Jeanne Schlaht.

On the night of the crash, Mutschler was taking his best friend's girlfriend, Stricklen, out for dinner and was going to help her mom with an errand, said family members.

Mutschler recently moved in with friends and made a living by fixing rock chips in windshields. He was debating whether to join the military or go to school.

"This (accident) will push him off the fence and get him going in the direction he needs to be going," his father said.

The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office was granted a continuance in the case and has until March 27 to file charges against the driver of the SUV.

"I feel sorry for her," Bill Mutschler said. "I don't think she has been guided and told what she needed to know to prevent from being involved in something like this. I can't imagine my own 16- year-old daughter causing so much pain."

To donate to the Seth Mutschler Fund, contact any First Bank.

doligosaf@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2970