Family minivan snagged, dragged 16 miles behind semi

[Hum]

A Michigan family is safe after the minivan they were in became lodged underneath a semi-trailer truck and dragged for 16 miles through a snowstorm.

"I just want to get off the back of this thing," Pamela Menz can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher.
The driver of the van told dispatchers their vehicle rear-ended the semi on I-75 due to poor visibility.

Pamela and Matthew Menz, along with their adult children Justin and Jennifer, were traveling northbound along Interstate 75 early Wednesday morning, when their 2001 Toyota Sienna plowed into the back of the semi.

"The truck driver had no idea they were back there," Roscommon County Undersheriff Ed Stern said.

Matthew Menz, who is a truck driver himself, told the 911 dispatcher the truck was in the middle of the road, "going about 2 miles an hour," without flashing hazard lights.

There was "no warning whatsoever," Matthew Menz told the 911 dispatcher, ''I'm just blown away at how slow the truck was going."

The truck driver continued on, unaware, until deputies stopped the semi.

The impact shut down the Menzes' vehicle, disabling the heater and preventing the family from sounding the horn. A shattered windshield, along with near-whiteout snow conditions, prevented Pamela and Matthew Menz from giving the dispatcher a clear description of the semi or their location.

The vehicles were later intercepted by deputies from the Crawford County Sheriff's Office.

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[The Evil Overlord]

I was just told about his a few hours ago, Still trying to get my head around how the truck driver didn't feel the impact...

 

glad no one was seriously hurt though

[DocM]

We've had poor visibility and ice, so lots bumper cars going on. They were interviewed on the local and news...freaked out, but they kept their cool. Lucky.

[remixedcat]

Minivans suck. they easily get pulled into trucks specially dodge caravans

[The Evil Overlord]

Minivans suck. they easily get pulled into trucks specially dodge caravans

No they don't but I do have a question, which one was it, my friend also said it was a Caravan, but the article mentions a Sienna

[Gerowen]

They shouldn't have followed so close.

 

I was just told about his a few hours ago, Still trying to get my head around how the truck driver didn't feel the impact...

 

glad no one was seriously hurt though

Having rode in an 18 wheeler when my parents drove, it's unreal how little you can feel.  When you've got a 53 foot trailer that weighs well over 10,000 pounds all by itself, then you throw 30,000+ pounds of cargo on it, consider the fact that the trailer has its own separate set of brakes, then if somebody hits you in the car catcher (the big bar that sticks down on the back end of the trailer), they've gotta hit you pretty hard before you actually feel it way up in the cab.

 

On a side note DocM, I saw that you guys are supposed to get upwards of a foot of snow in western Michigan, and even more in eastern Michigan, in the coming weeks, have fun with that,

[The Evil Overlord]

They shouldn't have followed so close.

 

Having rode in an 18 wheeler when my parents drove, it's unreal how little you can feel.  When you've got a 53 foot trailer that weighs well over 10,000 pounds all by itself, then you throw 30,000+ pounds of cargo on it, consider the fact that the trailer has its own separate set of brakes, then if somebody hits you in the car catcher (the big bar that sticks down on the back end of the trailer), they've gotta hit you pretty hard before you actually feel it way up in the cab.

 

On a side note DocM, I saw that you guys are supposed to get upwards of a foot of snow in western Michigan, and even more in eastern Michigan, in the coming weeks, have fun with that,

From what Capp (my ps4 friend) told me, they weren't, the snow made it hard for them to see the truck till it was too late, (so one could argue they were going too fast for the conditions) I drive SemiTrailer Trucks myself,  last time I was rear ended, I did feel the hit, I get that it doesn't feel more than a bump as the shunt impact doesn't affect the truck in motion, but still.

[remixedcat]

No they don't but I do have a question, which one was it, my friend also said it was a Caravan, but the article mentions a Sienna

late 90s caravans and early 2000s caravans get stuck to semis like no tomorrow.... when we were on long trips we had to be very careful not to get sucked into em...one life hack was to stay a certain amount away and we would get a few more MPGs out of the car by "riding the tentacle" as we called it but it was risky and had to maintain 45-65ft exact distance to get it which was tricky. Go try it in a 1996-2001 caravan.

[The Evil Overlord]

late 90s caravans and early 2000s caravans get stuck to semis like no tomorrow.... when we were on long trips we had to be very careful not to get sucked into em...one life hack was to stay a certain amount away and we would get a few more MPGs out of the car by "riding the tentacle" as we called it but it was risky and had to maintain 45-65ft exact distance to get it which was tricky. Go try it in a 1999 caravan.

This is partly why I asked, I've owned a 99, 00, 01 and a 05 Chrysler Voyager (same car more or less) (I get bored of cars and find myself going back to Volvo's a lot) Never had any problems with drafting (or tailgating) trucks, The only thing I feared in all of my Chrysler minivans were the lack of ncap safety in the earlier models, other than that, nothing, never even had an accident in them...

 

(I guess I'm thinking they were going faster than they had realised for the road and weather conditions... I'll drop the subject)

[remixedcat]

They have very bad recall ratio... always something we had to fix on those _________

[Hum]

At least the family saved some gas.