Filed under: Etc., Commercial Trucks
Wild Ride: Semi pushes wheelchair-bound man 50mph down highway
It could have been a horrible tragedy, but at the end of it all, no one was injured, and there were no hard feelings, either. Michigan State Police were skeptical when they started receiving calls saying that a big rig was pushing a wheelchair down the Red Arrow Highway in Paw Paw, Mich., but when the calls didn't abate, they headed out to investigate.The rig was found in front of a local trucking company and to everyone's shock, there was a wheelchair attached to the front. With a man in it, no less. The occupant was unharmed, and the astonished truck driver had no idea he was even there. Apparently, the wheelchair was in the process of crossing the road in front of the truck. Too low for the driver to see, it was driven into. Miraculously, the chair was positioned in such a way that the handles lodged in the rig's grille and it wound up facing forward. Think about it -- it could have just as easily been knocked over and then run over -- a nightmare scenario for all parties involved.
Instead, the worst thing that happened was that the man in the wheelchair apparently spilled the
Friends, that's today's candidate for understatement of the year.
[Source: South Bend Tribune]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mike 1:19PM (6/07/2007)
No no no, in Michigan its not a soda, its pop. I'm surprised that nothing worse happened given all the pot holes in the roads.
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Alex Nunez 1:22PM (6/07/2007)
Mike,
"Pop" it is, then. (I can't even say it without feeling funny.)
Joe 1:32PM (6/07/2007)
I like the line in it about being 'Unharmed and Unfazed'... clearly he is used to going 50 mph in his chair...
Mmmm... Paw Paw, such a great town they named it twice... It really is amazing that the driver didn't get on 94, considering the area, I mean Red Arrow goes pretty darn far, but travel on 94 is a lot quicker in Southwest MI...
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Dave 1:32PM (6/07/2007)
How bout a Fiero dragged along UNDER a semi:
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20030819-1-027556.html
And the label says "soda" right on it. ;)
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Ben 1:44PM (6/07/2007)
I'd actually pay for a ride like that. Lucky bastard.
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RumperBumperStumperBu 1:44PM (6/07/2007)
Look to the lelt
Look to the right
Beeeefore you cross the street.
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motorman 2:20PM (6/07/2007)
that chair must have had a hell of a set of wheel bearings to take that kinds of speeds
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TheMatt 2:41PM (6/07/2007)
Next time on "Mythbusters", Big Rig Myths, Part 2!
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Mulad 3:03PM (6/07/2007)
Heh, that was a pretty good episode, wasn't it? If I ever get a chance to do that Knight Rider drive-into-the-truck move, I'm gonna take it! ;-)
Stoneman 2:43PM (6/07/2007)
Captains log stardate 6-7-2007 09:00 est "...........I was cruising through the I-5 interchange when I felt a large bug hit the facility of my lower grill." A loud banging noise could be heard from my front grill. The damn leather bra came off again, so I had to get the next exit off, some 200 miles....dum de dahh.....
Stoneman auto review dot com
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trevor2k 3:00PM (6/07/2007)
I'm betting the "soda pop" was probably spilled right in the groin area. :)
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Mattias 3:02PM (6/07/2007)
With pics:
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,grossbild-889078-487352,00.html
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ArchAngel 3:17PM (6/07/2007)
If this ever becomes a ride at the Michigan Adventure theme park... I'm hitting it.
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Jeff Mayes 11:54AM (6/12/2007)
Well hell I'll give you alittle push but you supply the wheel chair
Yggdrasilly 5:51PM (6/07/2007)
"Well," said Mole, after the wheelcair was disentangled, "We thought you'd calmed down a bit after you had that accident at Bonneville."
"Calm?" Toad replied, "Why, my dear fellow, I'll be calm enough and to spare in the grave! But before then, well, 'carpe diem,' eh? Eh?"
"What's that mean--'carpy deem?'" whispered Ratty to Mole.
"I think it's some sort of fish." Mole replied.
--From "The Windshield in the Willows"
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Ben H. 7:11PM (6/07/2007)
Are you sure the wheelchair wasn't *towing* the truck?
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bathtub gin 11:40PM (6/07/2007)
"It was quite a ride."
This guy wins the award for "Pair of the Year."
Churchbells, my friends.
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Joe 12:49PM (6/08/2007)
That is incredible the wheels did not even burst at those speeds.
For Custom Barcode Labels, Barcode Printers, Bar Code Scanners and Address Labels go here.
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Joe 12:53PM (6/08/2007)
Sorry the go here is http://www.adazonusa.com for the barcode labels and stuff.
I think the wheelchair thing is a hoax though. There is no way the chair would hold up to 50mph. Especially the wheels.
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Doc 6:50PM (6/08/2007)
I've known Ben and his dad for a year or so (it's a small town) The chair Ben has is not a cheap one. However I don't think they even made it to take this abuse. The tires are shot, They look like ribbins a pack of cats torn into. My son and I had a dentist appointment today and the two little tire marks from his chair can be clearly seen and measure 2 plus miles pass the dentist office (about 1/2 mile out of town) Lucking for Ben the truck was heading west, towards the truck local lot. East and they would have hit the interstate. And god only know what that direction would have held for our young traveller. And it is POP here in Paw Paw Michigan. Home of the coke cola/minutes maid, and 7 up bottle plants. Ben had his opions but remains a pepper..