A driver in Kentucky crashed into a rental car location yesterday because he was choking on a french fry. McDonald’s is well-known for its french fries and it’s difficult to deny how delicious they are. After picking up a fresh order of fries, it’s extremely tempting to reach into the bag while pulling out of the drive-thru. This presumably led to an incident far more costly than any large combo meal from the Golden Arches.
WFIE reported that two people had just pulled out of a McDonald’s restaurant in Henderson, Kentucky. The driver, a man in his 50s, started choking on a french fry while behind the wheel. The driver attempted to pull over but passed out before coming to a stop. Instead, the vehicle plowed into an Enterprise Rent-A-Car location just 400 feet away from the drive-thru.
The Enterprise was thankfully unoccupied because the business was closed on Sunday. The Henderson Police Department stated that the vehicle’s occupants only suffered minor injuries and were conscious when first responders arrived at the scene. A police sergeant told WFIE, “They were outside the vehicle, inside the building. Of course, they were pretty shook up, but they just had small lacerations. The vehicle was already in park before they got out, airbags were deployed and they were transported to Henderson hospital.”
While most discussions around distracted driving center on cell phone use behind the wheel, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also categorizes eating while driving as distracted driving. It’s easy to have a laugh with everyone walking away relatively unscathed, but it could have been different on a weekday with employees and customers inside the Enterprise.