SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There was no way to avoid colliding with the car in front of her. Elvecia Ramos says on July 10, 2016, while riding her motorcycle, she and her friend collided with a car turning left in front of them.

“I just thought, ‘Oh my God, oh no.’ I just could believe it,” Ramos said. “It was a distracted driver, and he was making a left turn and he just didn’t see us.”

The crash sent both riders to the hospital for a three-week stay.

“I had a broken right ankle, fractured left ankle and torn ligaments,” Ramos said.

It was during her time in the hospital she went searching for a motorcyclist injury support group.

“I just needed to talk to someone else who had been through this, but my doctor said there wasn’t a support group like that,” she said.

Ramos decided to create a group of her own, calling it the Riderz Foundation. She said it started as a support group, but quickly grew into a safety education organization.

“In less than 24 hours of when we started the group, we had over 200 people that signed up for our first meeting,” she said.

Wednesday night, the organization hosted experts, including those from the Department of Public Safety, and other agencies to educate riders on the best ways to maneuver Utah’s roadways.

Attendees said the session highlighted what they should to stay safe.

“I learned the ‘what if’ scenario. What if this car pulls out, where am I going to go? Where is my escape route?,” said motorcyclist Annette Ault.

Ramos said it is thinking like that, that will keep riders alive, especially during a deadly summer like this one.

“Last year we had about 14 fatalities during this time, right now we have 27. So it’s not looking good,” she said.

Her hope with classes like these is to get all motorists on the same page.

“Let’s just try to help each other out to stay safer on the roads,” she said.