Vince Fazio stands in front of his truck, with a new Ex-Guard, with his son. Fazio was awarded a the new protector after he was struck by a hit-and-run drunk driver. Ex-Guard provided the new guard and Premier Truck Group of Salt Lake City provided installation.
A newly released dashcam video shows the moment when owner-operator Vince Fazio said an Ex-Guard on the front of his truck saved his life from a direct hit from a drunk driver's F-150.
The crash happened in late August 2023. Fazio, based in Nevada, was on one of his normal hauls on Highway 93 near Wickenburg, Arizona, when a drunk driver involved in an active police chase slammed into Fazio’s truck at more than 50 miles per hour, slamming the 6,000-pound F-150 into Fazio's Ex-Guard and front fender.
“I honestly think I would have died if an Ex-Guard would not have been on my truck. My lower bumper was destroyed, but I lived. The guard took 95% of the impact and I have the chance to work another day,” Fazio said in a press release from Ex-Guard. “Ex-Guard prevented my truck from being totaled -- saving me at least $60,000 in expenses.”
Fazio didn't escape totally unharmed, with some bumps and bruises plus the headache of dealing with insurance. Because of these setbacks, Fazio wasn’t able to get a new Ex-Guard put on his truck, but the company stepped in.
“When we saw Vince’s story and heard he wasn’t able to get a guard for his truck, we knew it was the right thing to help Vince and his family with a new Ex-Guard,” said Ex-Guard’s Head of Sales Joel Wooten. Ex-Guard contacted Chris Fjeldsted, parts sales manager at Premier Truck Group of Salt Lake City, to hook up Fazio.
“We have hundreds of stories of customers that have been protected by Ex-Guard. We’re glad to be able to keep another one of our customers on the road,” said Fjeldsted.
What happened to the drunk F-150 fugitive? Pleaded guilty.
“Not only did the guard protect me, but it helped push away the F-150, keeping both vehicles from being more damaged," Fazio added. "It does save lives!”
