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Local businesses surprise veteran with a free car

Grandville dealerships pooled their resources to give a veteran a free car.

GRANDVILLE, Mich. — In his 20 years of service to our nation, Sgt. William Draheim has endured some tough times.

"I've been to Egypt, Iraq, did another year-long deployment to New Jersey training soldiers to go overseas," says Draheim.

"The hardest one was my brother-in-law who was deployed before I did. He was actually killed. He was injured in Iraq and died four months later from an IED blast—that was probably the hardest," says Draheim.

Now back in Michigan, the father of three still struggles to make ends meet.

"A couple years ago, I got a 2003 Impala that just died on me last weekend actually. And I just have had nothing but bad issues with cars. The one I had before that was a '96 Corsica and the engine blew up on me," says Draheim.

Businesses like Van Eck Auto Body, Zeigler Auto Group and Farmers Insurance heard about the veteran's situation and wanted to help.

"We purchased a vehicle here and Harold Zeigler donated all the parts to us and we donated all of our time," says Allison Van Eck.

On Tuesday night with his family at his side, Draheim was presented with a 2016 Dodge Dart, completely free of charge.

"I'm overwhelmed, and it's nice to know that people do still care," says Draheim.

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