A midday drive through southwestern Ohio took an unusual turn when a woman choked while eating a French fry, passed out behind the wheel, and plowed her sedan straight into a gas station canopy.
How It Happened
The crash unfolded around 12:05 p.m. at a Sunoco station in Wilmington, Ohio, when a white sedan rolled into the lot and struck one of the canopy’s four support poles, causing part of the structure to collapse. The car then clipped a parked vehicle before finally coming to a stop — narrowly avoiding getting crushed by the falling canopy in the process.
A French Fry Nearly Took Down a Gas Station
According to a crash report obtained by local media, the driver — a 56-year-old woman behind the wheel of a 2016 Buick LeSabre — told a Wilmington police officer that she’d been choking on a French fry while driving. She said she blacked out, lost control, and doesn’t actually remember striking either the support pole or the parked car. She also mentioned to officers that she has a dry spot in her throat that can trigger choking episodes.
No injuries were reported, either to the driver or to anyone else nearby. Police still cited her for failure to control the vehicle, since a medical explanation doesn’t erase the fact that the car left the roadway.
Aftermath at the Station
The gas station shut down as a precaution while the Wilmington Fire Department brought in a building inspector to check whether the damaged canopy structure was still safe. Witnesses say they watched the sedan travel south before it turned into the Sunoco lot and hit the support pole, and the sudden collapse drew a quick emergency response along with plenty of attention from nearby residents and customers.
Once photos and video of the wrecked canopy hit social media, reaction spread fast. Some locals said they were startled by the sirens, others were caught off guard seeing the damage in person, and more than a few expressed concern about losing access to a station they use regularly.
Despite how strange the scene looked, authorities were clear that this was treated purely as a traffic incident, not a criminal matter. The investigation centered on documenting how the crash happened and assessing the structural damage left behind.