Driver Unscathed After Mustang Dragged Under Semi-Trailer for Half a Mile

Driver Unscathed After Mustang Dragged Under Semi-Trailer for Half a Mile
A wrecked mustang under a semi-trailer where it became wedged before being dragged for half a mile down the I-69 highway in Indiana on May 12, 2019. Indiana State Police
Simon Veazey
Updated:

A Ford Mustang was jammed under a moving semi-trailer and dragged for half a mile along an interstate highway before the truck driver noticed and pulled up.

The police said that the driver was lucky to escape without serious injury.

The driver of the black 1989 Mustang got himself out of the car and refused medical treatment, according to Indiana State Police (ISP), after he lost control and slipped under the truck on the I-69 as they traveled north through Indiana.
A wrecked mustang under a semi-trailer on the I-69 highway in Indiana on May 12, 2019. (Indiana State Police)
A wrecked mustang under a semi-trailer on the I-69 highway in Indiana on May 12, 2019. Indiana State Police
A wrecked mustang under a semi-trailer on the I-69 highway in Indiana on May 12, 2019. (Indiana State Police)
A wrecked mustang under a semi-trailer on the I-69 highway in Indiana on May 12, 2019. Indiana State Police

Indiana State Police named the Mustang driver as 40-year-old Ryan Lawson of New Haven.

“As Lawson was driving up alongside a 2017 Volvo semi-tractor trailer combination, he purportedly lost control of his vehicle and traveled under the trailer,” said an ISP report.

“The driver of the Volvo, 59-year-old Ivan Stovbun of Montreal, Canada, did not immediately realize the crash had occurred and traveled for another one-half mile with the Mustang wedged under his trailer before stopping in the driving lane.”

The section of the I-69 highway in Indiana, after the Markle junction, where the Mustang was dragged underneath a semi-trailer on May 12, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)
The section of the I-69 highway in Indiana, after the Markle junction, where the Mustang was dragged underneath a semi-trailer on May 12, 2019. Screenshot/Google Maps
Markle, the location of the crash on I-69 on May 12, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)
Markle, the location of the crash on I-69 on May 12, 2019. Screenshot/Google Maps

Photographs released by the ISP show the crushed mustang jammed diagonally under the buckled edge of the trailer, with only a couple of feet of the tail protruding. The front tire appears to have been stripped off, and the wheel worn flat where it was sanded down by the tarmac.

The driver of the semi was not injured in the crash, which occurred in the early afternoon of May 12.

“The crash is being attributed to mechanical failure on the part of the Mustang,” said the ISP in a statement.

The incident brought traffic on the highway to a standstill for about a half hour, until the passing lane was opened.

Last year, a semi driver didn’t notice that he was dragging along a dog behind his truck, until a good Samaritan flagged him down before he got on the interstate.

The dramatic incident was caught on video, and shared by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) in Arizona.

The sheriff’s office reported a member of its “Volunteers in Protection” program was at a gas station in Ash Fork, Arizona, on Sept. 8, when he noticed a tractor-trailer pulling out with a dog attached to its bumper.
The YCSO volunteer chases after the tractor-trailer driver, as the dog is pulled along. (Screengrab via YCSO)
The YCSO volunteer chases after the tractor-trailer driver, as the dog is pulled along. Screengrab via YCSO

Footage shows the semi heading in the direction of an interstate highway.

The volunteer immediately switched on his lights, the YCSO said, and drove over towards the cab of the truck to alert the driver that his dog was trailing behind.

Simon Veazey
Simon Veazey
Freelance Reporter
Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has reported for The Epoch Times since 2006 on various beats, from in-depth coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing on breaking news.
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