wow....that is truely amazing. God really was looking out for him on that day. his guardian angel was really with him then and he is certianly lucky to be alive and in as good of health as he is at this point as well as his frind being able to walk away virtually unscathed. this story certainly has spoken to me and has made me re-think my life and decisions over more and know it will continue to do so later on the next time i get the urge to show off of just "play around" while cruising down the road. all i can say is wow, and thank you for posting this up for all of us to read. i am certain that this affects us all or someone we know to one degree or another and is definately benificial for everyone to read. truely amazing story.

 

I hear what you are saying, but I am a little older and I certainly wouldn't go out racing in the freezing rain, and I guess that is the point and what this thread is all about. In fact yesterday I was driving home in the freezing rain just putt'n along in the right hand lane when all of a sudden a modded Mustang GT fly's by me, puts it in neutral and then revs and then takes off again. Surprisingly he didn't even break traction, I was amazed. I was also immediately reminded of this thread and kept my pace putt'n along while he took off wildly swerving in-between the traffic to jockey for position, for what reason god knows why. This was a tragedy to learn from, and sadly an avoidable tragedy but one we can learn from nonetheless

 

wow... touching story
really gets you thinking about stupid stuff you have done in your car... just the other day my friends and I were out driving our cars, and for the first time and probably last time i got my evo up to 150mph and swirved a little into the carpool lane. It was no big deal but just thinking if you have done something stupid and you did lose control, you could of been the guy with 8 surgeries.
hope he fully recovers

 

Yeah everyone said it alright touching story. I got chills from the start.When can we as people get together to try and stop this sort of thing. Ryan I feel for you man, i lost a friend in the same sort of deal. After reading you story I had memories come back. Why can't we all just understand the thrill you get is the same thrill you get at the track, but safer(not completely). I don't mean to sound harsh, but whens it going to end? When are we going to realize enough is enough, to many people are dieing or getting hurt from actions not being thought out. I wish he could turn back time and fix that. Ryan I am extremely glad you are doing better and hope for a full recovery. My prayers are with you. You have mended many hearts.

Again I apologize if I sounded out of line.

 

I'm glad he's doing okay, and hope he goes on to make an even better recovery...

The moral of this story is, quite simply, don't be stupid on the roads. Speed does NOT kill people. Bad decisions kill (or hurt) people. As Ryan pointed out, the conditions were not great, and he was not in exactly the most dynamic car on the planet. He reduced speed rapidly, throwing all his weight forwards, causing the rear wheels to lose traction. Pure physics.

Too many inexperienced drivers have cars that are WAY beyond their skill level (including, I'm sure, many on here). Age is not really a factor. A 19 year old could easily be qualified enough to drive a powerful car, just as a 40 year old can easily not qualified to drive a powerful car (and I see many of them every single day).

On another note, I'd also like to commend the doctors, nurses, therapists, and all the other highly trained people that were able to save Ryans life. I know God is usually credited with situations such as this, but really, without those highly trained people Ryan simply would not be alive today. Period.

Thanks, and be safe everyone!

S.

PS - driver training is the best thing you can spend money on - well before any modifications! Think about that before buying your next TBE or ECU re-map!

 

im in my senior year of high school and man did you just make a big diffrence in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS you really tuched my heart!!!!!!!

 

VERY VERY GOOD VIDEO!! Thank you for posting this! And thank god he is still alive! I also had a near-fatal crash that I can relate too (Not as bad as his though)
People please keep it on the track!! Not everyone ends up so lucky. .

Be safe everyone!!! And if you havent watched the video yet, please do!

 

This is a truly amazing and touching story. My heart goes out to him and his family.

If we could do it, this thread should be made as mandatory reading for all these kids out there that start the "I'm 15 (or 16, 17,18) and my parents want to buy me an Evo" threads. Would be really good for those parents to read this as well. Guaranteed it would change the parent's mind.

 

im 17 n i usually like to speed but after reading that i think im going to slow down in my evo... my friends are probably going to get mad because they always come in the car and say lets go boosting!!! But im going to cut it out

 

just curious I know the passenger was wearing a seat belt, was the driver?

 

Try to keep it clean, no reason to bring religion in to this. That's like messing with a Hornets nest.

 

Y'all want to tone down the language? Thread cleaned.

 

Great story and well produced. I wish I'd seen this 10 years ago. Now I just need the video to show to my son when he's able to drive.

 

Man about 2-3 years ago when I was 15-16 I loved speed. When friends wanted to top out there cars on a public highways I wanted shotgun. I'm so lucky I grew out of that quick. I know if I had my Evo back then I would of hurt or killed myself. Its not like I'm saying I never speed or street race. But now I know my limits. Now my heart jumps when someone speeds. Before I use to want to go faster. It just takes time and experience for someone to grow out of that crap.

 

An amazing story. I am glad Ryan is recovering and getting his life back together; I applaud his decision to share this and his honest evaluation about his role in it. After reading through all the comments here on EvoM I think it will help some people to make better choices.

What I can offer to those who don't get it & think they would have handled things differently is this:

I grew up with a wild crowd that drove fast & hard. In the year after my HS graduation I was a driver or passenger in 8 significant traffic accidents - several of them totaled the cars involved. Amazingly we pretty much got away with just minor injuries. At some point in all of this I realized that if I didn't change my life I would probably end up dead or killing someone else. I got out - moved far away and changed my lifestyle; it was probably the best decision I ever made. One of my best friends didn't - about a year later he went on to kill someone and went to prison for vehicular manslaughter. That pretty much ended his chance to live out a normal life - it's something that will follow him for the rest of his life.

I talked with him briefly once after that, but we really didn't have much to say to each other. He had changed, but I don't think he had the strength to completely leave his old lifestyle. I couldn't risk being pulled back. It was terrible conversation - how do you ask a close friend "so how are well is your life coming back together after you killed that lady?".

Some things I can offer from that crazy year (pardon the sarcasm):
1) Were mostly great drivers - our close escapes far outnumbered our wrecks.
2) We were invincible & we never really got hurt - right up until my friend killed someone and ended two potentially bright futures.
3) We always knew exactly what we were doing & were in control - until something unexpected happen - usually immediately followed by totaling the vehicle we were in.
4) It won't happen to us - even though it did 8 times in the year before I got out (not counting near misses). And eventually the odds caught up with a friend and an unknown (to me) victim of his driving.

Your world can change amazingly fast based on the decisions you make. Be smart and try to see the larger picture. I'm still a speed freak but now I exercise that on race tracks with other willing participants. There is still huge risk - 150+ mph speeds can kill with ease. But at least I'm playing in an environment where everyone has thought about it and is a willing participant.

The woman my friend killed was never offered a choice - and from what I read it was over before she really had an chance to react. Even years later it still hurts me to know I was part of the lifestyle that lead to her death. Even though I had left that environment almost a year earlier.