Homemade rocket bike fizzles; man falls from roof

Newspapers could cure their readership problem if they’d just put the police log on the front page.

There are no better stories than the under-explained police jottings to assess the human condition.

Right, Willmar, Minn.?

WILLMAR — A 40-year-old man was injured Friday afternoon after attempting to jump a homemade rocket bike off of his house roof in the 800 block of Third Street Southeast.

According to a police report, the rocket bike consisted of a pair of skis, a bicycle frame and motorcycle exhaust pipe and was being fueled with Heet, an antifreeze product.

The unidentified man fell approximately 13 feet and apparently hit a fence in the yard during the fall.

When rescue personnel arrived, he was on his back on a sled, pushing himself around on the driveway with his feet. He was reportedly swearing and yelling about the pain, according to the report.

An item this week in the West Central Tribune.

(h/t: Michael Wells)

From the archive: The streets of Bovey (NewsCut)