Ben Carpenter, a man in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy, says that he is still getting asked about his infamous two mile ride on the front of a semi, a decade after the incident.
Ben’s wild ride occurred back in June 2007 in Paw Paw, Michigan.
A recent report from local news station WZZM13 revisited the incident. According to the report, it happened because Carpenter had wheeled ahead of his caregiver and was crossing the street when the light turned green. When he turned to go back, a semi truck pulled forward without seeing him.
The wheelchair got stuck in the grill of the semi as the truck travelled westbound on Red Arrow Highway. A bystander in the intersection told Ben’s caregiver what happened and they both called 911.
“My client is in a wheelchair and he went to cross the street,” the caregiver said in her call. “The semi didn’t stop, and he’s still going and on the front.”
With Ben still attached, the truck reached speeds as high as 55 mph. Two undercover police officers spotted them and pulled them over two miles after the ride began. The trucker had no idea that Ben was on the front of his truck until the officers made him aware.
“I tried to yell for help, but no one could hear me,” said Carpenter.
After his wheelchair was removed from the grill, Ben was taken to the hospital where his mom was working as a nurse. The family felt very fortunate to learn that Ben was not hurt. They are now able to laugh about it together.
Ben summed it up with a statement we can all agree with:
“It’s amazing I survived.”
