A Nebraska man died after getting pinned between his vehicle and the McDonald’s drive-thru window in what police called a “freak accident.”
The victim, identified by authorities as 69-year-old Michael Dickinson, was found trapped between his car and the payment window at a McDonald’s restaurant in Grand Island, Nebraska, about 24 miles southwest of Lincoln, just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, KSNB reported.
The man was taken to a nearby emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.
Grand Island Police Division Chief Dean Elliott told the news station the incident was “100 percent a freak accident.”
“It appears the deceased opened the door to further reach out the window for payment purposes,” Elliott said. “We’re not sure if the vehicle lurched forward or what happened, but he got pinched between the door frame and the drive-thru window counter.”
Dickinson was the only person inside the vehicle at the time of the incident, police said.
As the incident unfolded, a McDonald’s employee went outside to help Dickinson. The employee reportedly tried to help through the passenger side of the vehicle, but got hurt in the process.
The employee was taken in an ambulance to a hospital, but is expected to recover, according to the report.
The Grand Island Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Team is helping in the investigation.
Authorities cleared the scene in about two hours and the chain stayed open.
