Ryan Sheets doesn't remember what happened, but he knows he owes his life to five men who lifted an SUV off him. Until Thursday, he had never met them.

The Holland Sentinel has a story about that meeting, at which the five men were recognized by the West Michigan Character Council for saving Sheets.

“These are tears of joy for everything they did,” Sheets said in the article. “I’m so grateful for their alertness,” he said.

The crash on Oct. 10, 2008, left Sheets with serious injuries, including a skull fracture, hearing loss and nerve damage. Sheets' GMC Jimmy was thrown into the air when a transit van failed to yield the right of way at an intersection and smashed into it. The Jimmy rolled at least three times and pinned Sheets underneath, the Sentinel said.