Deerfield CB Palmer rejoins team after accident
DEERFIELD BEACH — Demetrius Palmer is still weeks away from returning to workouts, but the Deerfield Beach cornerback was back on the sidelines Monday, more than a month after a prom-night car accident onMay 28 injured him and killed his Bucks teammate, T.J. Bradley.
Palmer, who will be a senior this fall, was released from Bro ward Health Medical Center last Wednesday.
The17-year-old defensive standout sat andwatched as teammates did offseason conditioning workouts. As players took breaks, they would ask how he was doing and joke around with him, putting a grin on a face that hadn’t had much to smile about recently.
“Having Demetrius back got the team hyped,” Bucks receiver Cornelius McCoy said.
Palmer was in a coma after the accident. He also suffered a dislocated shoulder and his left arm, head and facewere scraped up. Bradley, driving a red 2017 Corvette his mother had rented for him, reportedly lost control under wet conditions on State Road 7 north of Sunrise Boulevard. The sports car hit a curb and flipped several times, ejecting both teens.
Palmer, who was in the front passenger seat, was told he slid nearly 65 feet until he hit the curb on the opposite side of the road.
Bradley, 19, suffered severe head injuries in the crash and died days later — less than a week before his high school graduation.
Palmer was comatose for eight days, coach Jevon Glenn said. He has no recollection of the accident. Only weeks later did he learn Bradley, his best friend, was gone and he’d missed his funeral.
“My first thoughtwas, ‘Is this real? I’ve got towake up from this dream,’” said Palmer, a starter last year for Deerfield, which reached the Class 8A state semifinals. “We used to do everything together.”
Palmer, who holds scholarship offers from several small schools, including Morgan State and Virginia Union, missed the team’s recent cross-country campus tour. His teammates and coaches, tweeted getwell wishes from the different campuses throughout their travels.
dfurones@ sunsentinel.com / @DavidFurones_