Michigan Man in Wheelchair Pushed Down Highway by Semi

When you cross the street at an intersection and get caught halfway as the stoplight turns green, you expect traffic to wait for you to finish crossing. But as WOOD-TV reports, for one 22-year-old man in Michigan, simply crossing the street turned into a life-or-death thrill ride at speeds topping 50 mph.

Originally reported by Associated Content Producer Dom Coccaro, new details about the incident have emerged, including recordings of 911 calls (MP3 file) from motorists who witnessed the situation.

The man, Ben Carpenter, has muscular dystrophy and was crossing the street in his electric wheelchair when the stoplight changed to green. As the light changed, a semi-truck started moving directly toward Carpenter, whose wheelchair handles became lodged in the grille of the semi. The driver of the semi-truck apparently failed to notice Carpenter crossing the street. That's when the unexpected ride of a lifetime started.

For more than five miles, the semi-truck dragged Carpenter in his wheelchair down Red Arrow Highway in the town of Paw Paw around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The truck driver continued driving, unaware of the collision and unable to hear Carpenters cries for help. After reaching speeds of nearly 50 mph during the five-mile trip, the truck driver pulled into Ralph Moyle Trucking Company, which owns the semi-truck.

In an interview with WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids, Carpenter stated, "I was probably thinking that this is going to keep going and not stop anywhere, 50 or 60 miles somewhere... It was fast, I know that. Faster than this chair was made to go."

Carpenter also described the sound of the collision. "Kind of like train cars coming together, something like that... I thought it was kind of like a fair ride. I don't remember feeling any bumps though. I must have, but the road must have been pretty smooth."

At first, Michigan State Police Paw Paw Post and Van Buren County Central Dispatch thought calls from motorists were prank calls, but soon realized the unusual event was actually taking place on the highway.

As the Associated Press reports, motorists along the semi's route called emergency officials, as two undercover police officers witnessed the semi truck with Carpenter being pushed in front.

After reaching the trucking company where the truck finally stopped, troopers found Carpenter unharmed and unfazed. Even though a seatbelt secured Carpenter in his electric wheelchair, he was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

When the police informed the truck driver of the situation, the driver did not believe them until stepping out of his truck and seeing Carpenter's wheelchair still lodged into the grille.

According to the Associated Press, Donald Carpenter, the man's father, said, "It's a very bad story that ended very well... We're just thrilled that he's still around."

Other than losing most of the rubber coating the electric wheelchair's wheels, the chair remained undamaged. According to WOOD-TV, authorities do not plan to file any charges against the truck driver.

WOODTV.com also includes audio clips of emergency calls from motorists witnessing the accident. The audio file is located at http://woodtv.triton.net/news/phoner/Wheelchair%20911multiple.mp3.

James Prichard. "Michigan Man in Wheelchair Takes Wild Ride." The Associated Press. URL: (http://www.wral.com/news/strange/story/1479553/).

"Man in Wheelchair Takes Ride on Semi's Grille." WOODTV.com. URL: (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6623359).