Back in 2004, Victoria Ruvolo of Long Island became the victim of a terrible prank gone wrong. After a group of teenagers bought a 20-pound frozen turkey with a stolen credit card, 18-year-old Ryan Cushing decided to launch the bird out of their moving car. It crashed into Ruvolo's windshield, and the accident left her in a coma and with her face shattered. But she begged the judge to have mercy on Cushing (who got just six months in jail), and to this day harbors few hard feelings. "If I hadn't let go of that anger, I'd be consumed by this need for revenge," said Ruvolo. "Forgiving him helps me move on."
In 2005, Cushing told "Good Morning America" of Ruvolo, "She is the best, and I love her." And since then, Ruvolo has used the accident to her advantage. She now works with Robert Goldman, a Suffolk probation psychologist, to speak to teens about conflict resolution, and is sometimes joined by Cushing. Goldmain said, "She has embraced this, she has made the message part of who she is." Can we get the turkey pants guy in on this?
