Paw Paw Yehaw! 'til Po Po Show
State Police End Wild Wheelchair Ride

Speaking of The Carpenters... You may have heard this story about a young man named Ben Carpenter on your local news or the late-night monologues, but since it happened just south of us here, I thought I’d throw up a quick post about it. [Did I just say “throw up” a quick post?—I’m sorry. There’s got to be a better way to say that.]

Imagine. There you are in beautiful Paw Paw, Michigan, (Apple Cider Capital of the Midwest). You're strapped into your motorized wheel chair and you venture up to the corner store to buy a pop. You rest the tall, lidded container between your thighs and motor out the door toward the crosswalk. There is a big semi waiting for the light to turn green, and you're still crossing as it does.

Unfortunately, the high hood of the truck blocks you from the semi driver's view as he pulls ahead in low gear. As if in slow motion, you're being run over as others watch helplessly.
Fortunately, the initial impact turns your wheel chair the direction the truck is moving—otherwise, you’d be tipped over and crushed.
Unfortunately, you're now being pushed down the road, and the trucker still doesn’t know you’re his new hood ornament. (To make matters slightly worse, your pop has spilled in your lap.)
Fortunately, the hand grips of your wheelchair become lodged so securely in the truck’s front grill that your wheels are rolling freely.
Unfortunately, the speed limit is 55 MPH and you're literally burning rubber as your wheels are shredded down to the rims.
Fortunately, several drivers coming the other way call 911 stammering,
.
"You aren't going to believe this, (but) there is a semi pushing a guy in a wheelchair on Red Arrow Highway."

Unfortunately, the State Police think it’s a prank call until they keep getting the same report, the last one from a woman in tears.
Fortunately, a nearby state trooper catches up to the truck and cautiously motions the driver to pull into a parking lot.
Unfortunately, by then you've been flying as if on the "cow catcher" of a locomotive for over four miles! Six hair-raising minutes flew in your face between the first and last 911 call.
Fortunately, as the dumbfounded driver is escorted to the front of his truck to see you hitched there with a spilled pop in your lap, you still have a sense of humor and say, "That was quite a ride!"

Thank Heavens he was alright! If that had been me, I’d be thankful for two things: first, that I was alive… and second, that I had a spilled container of pop to help explain why my pants were wet! Because with or without that pop they would have been!

I know this is not funny, but if you think back to many humorous scenes in film and TV--from Little Rascals to Seinfeld--there is a fine line between comedy and tragedy.

[UPDATE: The 21-year-old was unharmed. This event happened Wednesday, June 6, 2007 around 4:00PM EST. Details were sketchy at the original post time, but I've updated as it comes out. He was later on the evening news. He has MD and was very lucid. He thought he was going to die. His mother joked, "He's always liked big trucks, but he didn't have to get this close." There was no mention of citations or litigation.
Listen to the 911 CALLS HERE. See father's video INTERVIEW HERE.]