Maine EMT struck by monster truck, saved by mud

[July 28, 2009]  LEBANON, Maine (AP) -- A Maine rescue department volunteer struck by a monster truck at a mud race avoided serious injuries thanks to a cocoon of mud.

Jason Cole, assistant rescue chief in the southern Maine town of Lebanon, says the driver lost control of her truck Sunday at the "Go Deep Mud" contest when the throttle became stuck.

Cole declined to identify the emergency medical technician, but says the truck struck the volunteer and knocked him flat on his back. Cole says the EMT sank so far into the mud that only his face was showing, and the truck's 35-inch tires passed on either side of him.

When the throttle came unstuck and the truck came to a stop, the EMT was able to crawl out on his own and walk to an ambulance. He was treated and released from a hospital.

[Associated Press]

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