New wheelchair for man who took wild ride

ALAMO TOWNSHIP (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Ben Carpenter survived a two-mile ride with his wheelchair hooked to the front of a semi truck's grill.

Newschannel 3 visited the Carpenter's house in Alamo Township Thursday, where Ben and his wheel chair were once again the center of attention.

Back in June a state police trooper spotted him going down the street at speeds up to 50 miles per hour while stuck in a semi’s grill.

When the semi finally rolled to a stop, Ben was unhurt and his wheelchair only needed a new set of tires.

"We've been worried since the incident that the motor would quit, twin motors, thought somethings got to quit, but they lasted this long,” said Ben‘s mom Joyce Carpenter. "We were worried is more going to fall apart, but it didn't."

Invacare, the company that makes the wheelchair, had never put its product through this kind of durability test.

"We do a lot of testing on our chairs, [but we] certainly don't test to fifty miles an hour," said Invacare Marketing Director John Domanick.

So Thursday, Ben got an upgrade. They gave him a brand new wheelchair, with updated technology, and a retractable joystick mount.

Invacare will put the chair from that wild afternoon ride on display.