GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 8, 2007
Truck Takes Wheelchair For Wild Ride
Wheelchair-Bound Man Gets Lodged In Truck's Front Grille, Hits 50 MPH
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21-year-old Ben Carpenter of Kalamazoo, Mich., found his motorized wheelchair stuck to the front grill of this semi truck and pushed four miles on Red Arrow Highway near Paw Paw, Mich., at about 50 m.p.h., authorities said. The young man, reportedly unhurt, was quoted by police as saying, "It was quite a ride." (AP/Mich. S.P., Kalamazoo Gazette)
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Interactive Motor Away Things to know before hitting the road.
Ben Carpenter was unharmed but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. He had been secured to his wheelchair by a seat belt. Carpenter, who has muscular dystrophy, told a television station that he thought he might not make it through the ride.
"I was probably thinking that this is going to keep going and not stop anywhere, 50 or 60 miles somewhere," he told WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids.
Ben Carpenter's father, Donald, told The Associated Press that his son had started to cross at an intersection Wednesday afternoon in Paw Paw, about 140 miles west of Detroit. The light changed to green while his son was in front of a semi, which started moving.
The wheelchair's handles became lodged in the grille, the father said, and the wild ride started.
Motorists called police on their cell phones, and a pair of undercover police officers who happened to be nearby saw what was happening. They pulled the truck over and told the disbelieving driver, Donald Carpenter said.
The chair was undamaged except for losing most of the rubber on its wheels, he said.
"It's a very bad story that ended very well," he said. "We're just thrilled that he's still around."
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It was a freak thing that happened, probably one of the freakiest I have ever heard but no one was at fault.
I say thank God the guy was all right and the only damage was to the wheels.
Not only did he get a ride, but his wheel chair battery was fully charged by the end of the ordeal!
Note to self--if ever in a wheel chair, get one of those dorky red flags they used to put on bicycles...
An investigation revealed the man in the wheelchair had pulled in front of the truck at a gas station, and it somehow became lodged by its handles to the front grille.
Not at an intersection