Man pinned under wheel of tractor-trailer in Sunrise

Fellow driver hops into cab, takes truck out of gear

SUNRISE, Fla. – A truck driver is recovering after he was run over by his own rig. 

The driver was working on the transmission of his 18-wheel flat bed tractor-trailer when the truck starting rolling forward. 

It happened about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday along U.S. Highway 27, just north of Interstate 75.

Truck driver Richard Davis was stopped in the same area at the time and headed the man screaming for help. 

"He was plugging something in," Davis told Local 10's Roger Lohse. "Something came loose from his transmission and he had it in gear and he was out of his vehicle and underneath it fixing it, and when he plugged it in, it ran him over."

Davis said he jumped into the cab of the truck and stepped on the clutch to stop the big rig from moving, but one of the man's legs was pinned under the center section of wheels.

Rescuers had to call in a heavy duty tow truck to lift the tractor-trailer off the victim. He was flown to Broward Health Medical Center.

The victim has not been identified, but officials said his injuries are not life-threatening.