In April 2005, most of the month consisted of 60-70 degree weather...that is until Saturday the 23rd. This is where the nice weather ended and my story begins...the story of one young, stupid, unlucky, 19 year old. My name is Ryan Moss, currently 21 going on 22. I Graduated from Brighton in 03'. At the time of my accident, I was 19, the great age where the young adult population thinks & feel that they are invincible. I am here to tell you that you aren't invincible by any means, no matter how old or young you may be.
I am happy to say, I am one of the few lucky people who have owned a SRT-4. I had a black 2005 SRT-4 with the "normal" bolt-ons & turbo kit. To say the least, it was quick. I purchased this car on December 29th, 2004...meaning this car was not even 4 months old when it was totaled. The day started out with overcast skies and had a couple scattered rain clouds. There was a warning in effect for freezing rain later that night. Since I bought the car, I treated it like I would a child. I was very partial to let people driving it, but for some reason, I did not feel like driving my car at all that day. I guess I should've listened to that "little voice". 3 of my friends and I planned to meet a few girls at an Applebee's restaurant, off of Milford Rd. & I-96, for a late lunch that afternoon...the last place that I can fully remember before my accident. The restaurant was about 15 minutes away from my friend Garrick's house, where we all met to car pool. My friend Adam and I rode in my car, in which I let/made him drive. Garrick and my other friend, Joe, took Joe's 98' GSX. While we were eating lunch, we all noticed a hostess checking me out. We finished our lunch and planned on heading back to Garrick's house which was in Brighton. I handed Adam my keys again, and told him I'd be out in a second...I stopped and talked/ flirted with the hostess a little. (Yes, I got her number!) Adam decided that he'd start my car but let me "show off" my car and let me drive out of the parking lot and back to Garrick's. I walked out the door and saw Adam buckled up in my passenger seat, so naturally I hopped into my driver seat. We proceeded to pull out of the parking lot onto the main road, which is the very last memory I had of that day.
Once on the main road, the entrance to the expressway is about 100 yards or so. Once we were on the expressway, a silver 2000 Camaro SS drove by in the left hand lane. This happened just as it started to sprinkle, and I mean it was barely doing that. I quickly caught up the Camaro with Joe and Garrick following behind. I noticed the very cute, young blonde in the passenger smiling...so I decided to give you a little more to smile about. I was in the center lane and the Camaro was in the left...I downshifted and decided to edge him on to a harmless run on the expressway...a race, to be technical. If you know anything about SRT-4s, you know they are COMPLETE torque monsters! When I downshifted, I decided to drop it into 3rd, rather than 4th. My wheels spun for about a second then caught traction. We immediately went from 70mph to a good 95+mph...and seeing that I was actually pulling on him, I decided to keep it going. A car was up ahead of me, so it was either quit or pass the car on the right; I went for the pass. Just as I passed the car, my car hydroplaned and I let off the gas which brought our speed back to the 70-75mph range. At that moment, my ass-end literally floated to the sideways, and we were sliding sideways down the expressway doing 70mph. We quickly caught a dry patch of pavement which sent us off the right side of the expressway down into a ditch...and sent the car airborne crashing through a young tree. This tree shoved the FMIC into the block and stalled the car out...no power steering or brakes. When the car landed, I somehow managed to turn the car to the left so it was parallel with the expressway. Because of the low profile tires, the tire blew and the rim dug into the ground...at the same exact time we crashed into a pile of brush. The combination of the 2 sent the car into a roll. When the car landed, it did not land flat on the roof but instead landed right on the driver's side A-pillar bringing the roof down to steering wheel level. Just as you might think, my face met the roof. For all of you who do not know me, I'm 6'5, so I literally "face planted" into it. The car rolled another 4.5 times, sliding about 30 or so yards on its roof. To say the least, Adam and I were lucky at this time because the car stopped in the middle of a "U" of trees. Adam opened his eyes to the amazement of what just happened and quickly looked over to me. He saw a vision that is said to be one of the worst things ever seen or imaginable...I was hanging lifeless from my seat, bleeding out of every orifice on my face, with the size of my head comparable to a NBA basketball. He crawled out of his window, which was still full shape, to check if the car was on fire and call 911. To his amazement, the car was not on fire and his feelings & emotions were overwhelmed with adrenaline and fulfilling his need to save my life.
this guy is from my home town...
and now he's preaching to everyone else:3d_frown:
