KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – The 2020 Silverado was on its side, crumbled and hissing. The smell of smoke, dust and fresh grass permeated the air.

Ray Paddock did a quick check of his extremities and only found a small scratch near his right eye.

At that moment, the teen suddenly realized that his ungrounded behavior needed to change. He had reasons to be filled with anger and doubt, but he was lucky this time. He may not be so lucky next time.

“That was my big turning point,” Ray said. “That really opened my eyes up. I realized I needed to take care of things better.”

That meant getting back into the gymnasium and eating better. It meant concentrating more on his schoolwork at Keystone Heights Senior High. It meant reviving old hobbies, like playing the guitar, living on a strict schedule and completing a 10-week probationary period with therapy to get his “stuff” back together again.

It was a revelation that didn’t come easily for the senior, who will graduate on Friday, May 23. Until his teens, Ray said he led a “perfectly normal” life.

Then it started to unravel with a bizarre accident.

“When I was 12, my dad had an accident with a tree,” Ray said. “A tree fell on him. He was cutting it down, and the tractor was supposed to be chained to the tree, a big old water oak couldn’t support it, so it fell back on him.”

He died instantly.

Ray said his mother responded by drinking heavily until she died last year. He said she had detached during the previous two years, and that affected his schoolwork and personal life.

“When my dad died, she took it out on us,” Ray said.

Then came the crash.

“I was with some friends in Gainesville one night,” he said. “It was 4 o’clock in the morning, and I fell asleep on the way home. I ran off the road and got airborne when I ran through a culvert. I remember waking up when I was in the air.”

Ray said he decided then to make amends with himself.

Most importantly, Ray doesn’t want any sympathy.

“I feel lucky,” he said. “I’m lucky to be alive, but also because I’m blessed. I’m also lucky to have the support groups I needed not to be completely alone.

“I understand there were hardships, but I don't want this to define me.”