Freak accident at McDonald’s drive-thru ends with man crushed to death in Vancouver

A man waiting in the breakfast line at a McDonald’s drive-thru was crushed to death in a “heartbreaking” freak accident, according to the Vancouver Police Department in western Canada.

It happened around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday at the McDonald’s on Main Street in Vancouver, the department said in a news release.

“Surveillance footage shows the driver dropping an object out of his vehicle while paying for items,” officials said.

“When he went to pick up the item, the vehicle rolled forward, colliding into a structural piece of the restaurant. The driver was unable to free himself from the vehicle as he was pinned between the vehicle door and frame.”

Constable Tania Visintin said the driver “tragically” died at the scene. His identity has not been released.

“This is an absolutely heartbreaking scenario. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this man,” Visintin said in the release.

An investigation has been launched and the department is asking for any dash-cam footage that might have been recorded in the parking lot that morning.

Media reports show the scenario of drive-thru customers getting crushed in such a way happens sporadically in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2018, a 20-year-old was killed at a St. Louis Jack In The Box when he put his car in reverse to reach the pickup window and got pinned “between the car and tree,” USA Today reported.

Commenters on the Vancouver police Facebook post noted something similar happened in southwestern Ontario in 2010.

A 73-year-old man was killed at a Tim Horton’s drive-thru, when he reached to pick up something, and his “vehicle reversed, pinning his head and neck between the door and a yellow post,” CBC News Network reported.

This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Freak accident at McDonald’s drive-thru ends with man crushed to death in Vancouver."