A truck driver is dead after an apparent medical emergency caused him to lose control of his rig and crash into a Japanese restaurant.
The incident happened on Thursday, October 26th at approximately 9 a.m. in Fort Bend County, Texas.
According to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, a tractor trailer hauling liquid nitrogen was driving south on Texas State Highway 99, otherwise known as the Grand Parkway, when the driver suffered what seems to have been a medical emergency, causing him to lose control of the rig.
The truck then veered off of the highway and onto the feeder road where it struck two vehicles before crashing into the Shogun Japanese Grill in the 7300 block of the Grand Parkway near Richmond, Texas.
The force of the impact destroyed the restaurant’s storefront, as well as a portion of a neighboring nail salon.
Nail salon next door to restaurant also damaged when truck came through the wall. pic.twitter.com/JKv8RjWiXJ
— Major Chad Norvell (@chad_norvell) October 26, 2017
Fortunate they were not open for lunch. Opens at 1100. Shogun Restaurant pic.twitter.com/FIlBoKK64M
— Major Chad Norvell (@chad_norvell) October 26, 2017
The truck driver was discovered slumped over the steering wheel and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Three people sustained minor injuries in the accident, including one woman inside of the nail salon. Luckily, the restaurant was not yet open for the day, so no patrons were inside.
Update: The driver of the 18-wheeler has passed. We believe the crash was caused by a medical issue he was experiencing.
— FBCSO Texas (@FBCSO) October 26, 2017
Troy Nehls, a Sheriff in Fort Bend County, says that the death toll could have been “catastrophic” had the restaurant been open.
The identity of the truck driver, as well as his exact cause of death, has not been released.
