Chain reaction accident totals three cars in front of Charles Theatre

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

A driver who apparently choked on a sandwich caused a chain-reaction, five-vehicle pileup into a line of parked cars and trucks shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday on Main Street in front of the Charles Theatre.

There were no people in the parked cars or pedestrians on the sidewalk who were injured in the collision.

“At least nobody was walking out because the movie wasn’t over,” said Charles City Police Officer Luke Chatfield. “Nobody got hurt.”

The driver who caused the accident was cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle. He was behind the wheel of a red Chevy Silverado pickup truck when he started choking on a sandwich that he was eating and then proceeded to blackout, he said.

He slammed into the back of a black Honda CR-V that was parked in front of the movie theater. That collision then caused a chain reaction that then totaled a black Tahoe that was parked in front of the Honda.

“When I get to coughing real bad, I seize or blank out. When I started choking I pulled over because I knew I was going to black out,” said the driver of car, who said his first name was Corey. “I thought I was stopped a little ways back.”

“He didn’t get stopped,” said Chatfield. “Next thing he knows he’s in the back of the vehicles.”

All three cars involved were totaled, according to Chatfield. Two cars in front of the pileup received minimal damage and were able to drive away from the scene.

The movie that was playing, “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” was stopped so owners of the vehicles that were involved in the accident could go outside to assess the damage.

Ashley Head, owner of the Honda, said she was thankful her two kids who she brought to the movie weren’t in the vehicle when it got hit.

“I guess I’m just in shock,” she said. “We just got done doing “Shop with a Cop” and then came to the movie afterward.”