A man in Lakewood selflessly sacrificed his truck to save an unconscious driver whose vehicle was out of control on the highway.
Ryan Myrick was driving westbound on 6th Avenue on Friday, Sept. 6, when he noticed a car swerving erratically ahead of him, just past Sheridan. “I saw the vehicle hit the median, bounce over to the right side of the road, and back toward the median,” Myrick recalled. Realizing the driver was unconscious, with no control over the vehicle, Myrick knew he had to act fast.
The traffic was moving at around 30 mph, and in a split-second decision, Myrick used his pickup truck to bring the runaway car to a halt. “I got in front of her, made sure no one was behind me, and let her car hit mine to stop her from going forward,” he said.
After stopping the vehicle, Myrick jumped out of his 15-year-old Dodge Ram and used a floor jack to break the car windows and turn off the ignition. An off-duty police officer nearby quickly joined in to assist, helping to shut off the engine.
Fortunately, a nurse was also in traffic and came to the scene. She advised against moving the woman, suspecting she had suffered a seizure.
While Myrick’s truck sustained bumper damage, he didn’t regret his actions for a second. “The damage to my truck is nothing compared to the lives that could’ve been lost. I would’ve done it again, even if it was a brand-new truck,” he said.