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World's Wildest Ride? (NMR)
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NMR = Not Motorcycle Related (but a darn good story since it could be us not
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Nah, the world's wildest ride is Cat on her Sportster.
For instance, as she was riding her bike around town, yesterday, she passed
a dump truck in the left lane, over the double yellow line, on the left. She
did a
California rolling stop and turned left, onto another street. She was pulled
over by a LAPD motorcycle officer, who turned out to be a woman. She warned
Cathy to be
careful, as she percieved Cat's riding habits to be dangerous. The officer
apparently also told Cathy that she did nothing illegal, that she was just
giving her a warning?!?! She did not light her up.
So Cathy feels that this is some sort of vindication of her poor riding
habits? As usual, I made absolutely no comment.
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seen!)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Ben Carpenter got the ride of a lifetime when his
electric wheelchair became lodged in the grille of a semitrailer and was
accidentally pushed down a highway for several miles at about 50 mph. His
father, Donald Carpenter, was incredulous when police called to tell him his
21-year-old son was OK after the wild ride.
"I said, 'What happened?'" Donald Carpenter recalled Thursday.
He said his son had started to cross Wednesday afternoon at an intersection
in Paw Paw, about 140 miles west of Detroit, where the truck had stopped for
a red light. The light changed to green while Carpenter was still in front
of the semi, which started moving forward.
The truck bumped into the side of the wheelchair, which then started turning
forward, its handles becoming lodged in the grille, the father said. The
wild ride had started.
"He's so low that the truck driver couldn't see him, and the truck headed
out," he said.
The wheelchair, with Carpenter strapped in it, ended up being pushed by the
truck as it sped down the Red Arrow Highway. Police said the wheelchair was
pushed about four miles, but Donald Carpenter said it was about half that.
Ben Carpenter said while all of this was going on, he seriously considered
the possibility that he might not make it before the truck came to a
complete halt.
"I was probably thinking that this is going to keep going and not stop
anywhere, 50 or 60 miles somewhere," he told Grand Rapids television station
WOOD.
"It was pretty scary," he told WDIV-TV of Detroit.
The bizarre sight caught the attention of motorists, many of whom called 911
on their cell phones. A pair of undercover police officers who happened to
be driving in the opposite direction at the time saw what was happening, did
a quick U-turn, followed the truck to its business and informed the
disbelieving driver, Donald Carpenter said.
His son escaped injury.
"He's fine," Donald Carpenter said. "Not a scratch. He was basically just
scared."
Ben Carpenter, who has muscular dystrophy, lives with his parents in nearby
Kalamazoo. He had gone to Paw Paw to ride on a trail with a medical aide who
was on a bicycle, his father said.
The aide had fallen slightly behind Carpenter by the time he was crossing
the intersection and, because of the angle, didn't see him being pushed down
the road. She had no idea what had happened to him.
"She was frantic and then a driver at the intersection started honking his
horn and said he's attached to the front of the truck," Donald Carpenter
said. The aide then used her cell phone to call for help.
The father said being pushed down the road by the truck burned most of the
rubber off the tires of the wheelchair, but otherwise didn't damage it. The
tires were replaced Thursday morning, in time for his son to use the
wheelchair this weekend at a muscular dystrophy camp.
"It's a very bad story that ended very well," he said. "We're just thrilled
that he's still around."
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