Car flies up and over tow truck, badly damaging both vehicles

PLYMOUTH, Ind. - A car flew up the ramp of a tow truck, flipped over, and landed in a ditch Friday morning as the crew was working on another call. Luckily, everyone walked away with their lives.

The tow truck driver spoke exclusively with ABC 57's Jess Arnold about the whole experience.

Reichert & Knepp Wrecking Service posted about it on Facebook as a cautionary tale for drivers.

As of Friday night, the post had been shared more than 6,000 times.

“I was like holy cow, this guy’s airborne!" said tow truck driver Matthew Riffel.

It's not every day that you see a car use a tow truck ramp to catch some air.

“It was a standard every day tow...Had the roll back down so that we get a low point...As soon as I got the cables back, here comes this car, and he hit the ramp, hit it going pretty fast and smashed the back of the cab as he went up and over, rolled complete 180, landed on the top, slid down and down into the ditch...It was crazy," said Riffel.

It's crazy that the driver of the car, who the tow truck driver says is 90-years-old, survived flying into a ditch without his seat belt.

Not to mention how incredible it is that he didn't take out any crew members in the process.

“I was standing not too much further than I am right now," said Riffel.

The truck itself didn't have as much luck.

Initial estimates for all the damage add up to at least $10,000.

The piece linking the ramp with the cab is also connected to the destroyed lights.

When the car flew over the top, it split the steel in half.

The hope is that this damage didn't happen in vain.

“What I would say to drivers is obey the law. The law is to slow down or move over, or preferably both," said Riffel.

“Just kind of be aware that we’re out there working, and we have families that we’d like to go home and see at the end of the day," said wrecking service owner, Liberty Reichert.

"If I don’t make it then my wife’s not very happy," said Riffel.

Riffel and Reichert hope this story serves as a reminder to drivers to slow down and move over if you see any flashing lights on the road.