A MAN risked his life and his truck to rescue an unconscious driver as her vehicle spun out of control.
The driver used his Dodge Ram pickup truck to stop the swerving vehicle in the middle of a busy road.
Ryan Myrick, who used his pickup truck to stop an out-of-control car in Lakewood, Colorado[/caption]
The bumper damage caused by the collision[/caption]
Good Samaritan Ryan Myrick told local Fox affiliate KDVR that he realized something wasn’t right with oncoming traffic in Lakewood, Colorado, which is less than 10 miles outside of Denver, on September 6.
“Just after Sheridan, I saw a vehicle that swerved in front of me,” Myrick said.
“They swerved all the way over and hit the median, the dividing median.
“Then bounced up and over and then back to the wall of the right-hand side of westbound.”
Myrick said that he quickly realized that something was wrong with the car’s driver when he noticed a scary sign.
“The driver was completely passed out hunched over the passage seat still going forward no hands on the wheel, no nothing,” he said.
He told local ABC affiliate KMGH that he tried to get her attention.
“I’m honking, screaming, yelling, no response,” Myrick said.
Once he noticed the woman was unconscious behind the wheel, he sprung into action.
The motorist decided to use his 15-year-old pickup truck to stop the unconscious driver’s car from traveling any farther and hitting other cars.
He said that traffic was moving at about 30 mph when he stopped his truck on westbound 6th Avenue.
“I got in front of her, looked behind me to make sure there was nobody else behind me,” Myrick said.
“I stopped so she could hit me.
“So, I let her vehicle impact me to stop her from going forward.”
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Specifications
Ryan Myrick’s Dodge Ram pickup truck is 20 years old – meaning he likely owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab.
Without knowing the exact model, the truck is likely around 74.4 inches tall, according to KBB.com.
Not only is it over six feet tall, but the vehicle is 79.9 inches wide, without counting the car’s mirrors.
The car also weighs around 5,000 pounds.
He said that he then jumped out of his truck and raced over to the unconscious driver’s car.
He used a floor jack to break her windows in and turn off her car’s ignition.
Myrick said an off-duty cop helped him shut the car off.
“It had to have been a few minutes, but it seemed like it happened so fast,” he recalled.
Myrick said his truck suffered damage, but that he doesn’t regret sacrificing his vehicle for the sake of others’ lives.
The damage that was done on my truck is nothing compared to the lives that would have been taken or could’ve been taken if I didn’t do what I did.”
Ryan Myrick
“The damage that was done on my truck is nothing compared to the lives that would have been taken or could’ve been taken if I didn’t do what I did,” Myrick said.
“I would have done it again in a brand-new truck.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Lakewood Police Department for comment.
GOFUNDME PAGE
Members of the Colorado community showed their gratitude for Myrick’s quick thinking with a GoFundMe page, created by his girlfriend, dedicated to raising money to repair the damage done to his truck in the crash.
The fundraiser’s page reported that the unconscious driver woke up at the scene and was alert when paramedics took her to a nearby hospital.
“If he had not taken the action he did, she may have died, and I have no doubt that countless others could have died or been severely injured as well,” the page said, adding an update that the woman has been in contact with Myrick.
Myrick’s girlfriend, Danielle Stephens, asked for support in repairing his truck after the collision.
“His truck is his baby,” she wrote.
“It’s 20 years old, but he has taken care of it and invested a lot of money to maintain it.
“It at minimum needs a new bumper, but we have not taken it in to see if there is any underlying damage behind it.”
At the time of writing, the fundraiser has received over $2,000 in donations for the truck.
The truck suffered minor damage[/caption]