Wild Ride

[sfga6970]

Mich. man in wheelchair takes wild ride
By JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago



A 21-year-old man got the ride of a lifetime when his electric wheelchair became lodged in the grille of a semitrailer and was pushed down a highway for several miles at about 50 mph.
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 911 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."

[BrianK]

Not the same as riding in a convertable with the top down. Good bet too that the wheel chair manufacturer isn't going to use 50 to 60 mph speeds in it's advertising.

I wonder if the wheel chair will sport one of those long orange fiberglass rods with a little flag on top now.

[Betty Boop]

I just can't help but wonder how the wheelchair got in front of the truck in the first place - I mean obviously the wheels were pointed the same direction as the truck was moving. I can understand how the man in the wheelchair could be overlooked because of height of truck cab and vield of vision limitations - but still have to believe his guardian angels were doing overtime to make sure that his chair was just at the right angle for the handles to be perfectly spaced enough so as to get stuck in the grille and push the chair along on such a wild ride. Sure as heck beats an E-ticket ride at Disneyland (And, if memory servies me, Mr. Toad's Wild Adventure in Fantasyland was no more than a C-ticket)! Glad the man is okay.

[conlor]

There's a link to the same story in News Articles. My daughter lives in Grand Rapids and sent it to me. I'm having trouble transferring the link here.

[Betty Boop]

These are the pictures that just blew me away:







Amazing the force of the truck didn't topple the chair and crush the man.

All night, all day,
Angels watching over me, my Lord.

[conlor]

There go his 15 minutes of fame.

[milmor_1]

I only heard this amazing story from my youngest son last night,

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A man in a wheelchair was pushed down a road at high speed for 10 kilometers (six miles), after the chair's handles snagged the truck's grill at a red light, but came to no harm, police said Friday.

"I'm fine. I just went for quite a ride," 21-year-old Ben Carpenter told police after they stopped the incredulous driver of the semitrailer.

"We informed the truck driver of what was going on and he didn't believe us until he actually saw it for himself. He was in a state of shock," said state trooper Michael Sink, of the Michigan state police in Paw Paw, where the incident took place.

They said Carpenter, who suffers from dystrophy, was crossing the street in front of the truck when the light turned red. Unaware, the driver put the truck in gear and snagged the wheelchair handles in the grille.

"And down the road they went," Sink said. The ride lasted some 10 kilometers (six miles) with speeds of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles per hour), he added.

"It's a miracle, a quite amazing story. Someone was looking out for this younng man the other day," Sink said.

Carpenter was taken to hospital as a precaution, but suffered no injury.

Wheelchair-bound man goes for a ride, snagged by a truck - Yahoo! News UK