By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

SABATTUS – Ryan Guay was a young man with many interests. He played the drums and jammed with friends and family. He was schooled as a music engineer and once thought about choosing the field as a career. Ultimately, the 22-year-old from Sabattus decided he wanted to service and build Harley-Davidson motorcycles instead.

Guay, who moved to Florida in July, was killed there Monday when his Harley collided with a van in Orange County.

“He was on his way to work, and it was before sunrise,” said Lisa Pengel, Ryan’s mother, who lives in Lewiston. “He didn’t see the van coming through the intersection.”

The vehicles collided and Guay was killed instantly. Officials told his family he had died from head trauma.

On Tuesday night, family members were making funeral arrangements and sharing stories about Guay’s life. He was described as a free-spirited young man from a hockey family who had spent the last few years searching for a career.

“He loved to jam with his friends,” Pengel said. “He liked to stand out and he liked to be himself.”

Guay graduated from Oak Hill High School in 2002. At the time, he was no longer playing organized hockey and music was his primary interest. He spent a year at the New England School of Communications studying the technical side of music.

“He wanted to follow his love of sound engineering and music recording,” Pengel said.

Still mulling his future, Guay returned to Sabattus for a few years and worked for General Concrete Cutting Services. While there, he was still trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life. Last year, he found his direction.

In the summer, Guay went to Orlando, Fla., to study to become a Harley-Davidson technician at the Motorcycle Mechanic Institute. His mother said Guay quickly began to believe he had discovered his calling.

“He commented all the time about how much he loved it,” Pengel said. “He thought he found something he really liked to do. Mechanics became his passion.”

Guay planned to complete his training in 2007. Then he hoped to build custom motorcycles for friends and family.

Guay was the son of Pengel and Danny Guay, a local hockey star who graduated from Lewiston High School. Ryan Guay’s uncle is Jeff Guay, personal trainer for the Lewiston Maineiacs.

Pengel said her son played youth hockey but did not get much chance to play into high school as he continued his education at Oak Hill. He found himself gravitating to lacrosse and motor sports, instead.

Calling hours will be Saturday and Sunday at Guy Dostie Funeral Home in Lewiston. The funeral is planned Monday at Holy Cross.

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