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No charges for trucker in wheelchair incident
Driver unknowingly pushed disabled man for miles at speeds up to 50 mph
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A wild ride June 7: Ben Carpenter was crossing the street when a truck hooked his wheelchair, taking him for a 50 mph ride. WOOD's Joe La Furgey reports. NBC News Channel |
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PAW PAW, Mich. - A truck driver whose rig snagged a man in his wheelchair and unknowingly pushed him at speeds up to 50 mph for miles will not face any criminal charges, authorities said.
Van Buren County prosecutor Juris Kaps said investigators determined the semi accidentally hit the wheelchair, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported Tuesday.
Ben Carpenter, 21, of was attempting to pass in front of the truck June 6 when the light at an intersection turned green and the 52-year-old driver, who was not identified, started to move.
The wheelchair turned forward and its handles got lodged in the grille in Paw Paw, about 140 miles west of Detroit. The rig continued picking up speed and pushing the wheelchair, with Carpenter strapped in it, down the highway until pulling into the parking lot of a trucking company.
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Police said the wheelchair was pushed about four miles, but Donald Carpenter, the man's father, said the actual distance was about half that.
Ben Carpenter, who lives near Kalamazoo and has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was not injured.
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