Trucker chokes on pizza, stalls traffic and causes crashes, Indiana police say

Drivers traveling west on Interstate 70 in Henry County, Indiana, found themselves in snarled traffic Tuesday afternoon for a most peculiar reason: A trucker was choking on a piece of pizza, according to a news release from Indiana state police.

State Trooper Jeff Culley responded to a call at mile marker 120, which is where the trucker had pulled off the road and into a muddy berm because he was choking. The tractor-trailer rig got stuck, and as a tow truck pulled the rig back onto the pavement, traffic congestion ensued, police said.

Once the scene was cleared Culley left the area, only to be called once more becausethedelay caused a “secondary crash” in the back end of the traffic jam.

Just after 2:10 p.m., Culley found “a 2019 Mercedes, driven by Misty Gonzales, 31, was west bound at the 123 mile marker when she failed to notice the slowed traffic in front of her that was left over from the previous incident,” according to the news release.

The Mercedes struck an SUV. . Both Gonzales and her passenger Paul Karschkes, 63, were transported to a nearby hospital with complaints of pain, authorities said.

The driver of the SUV was not injured, police said.

Culley later investigated another crash in the area that involved a 18-wheeler hauling apple juice and another truck. The crash blocked I-70 westbound for hours, according to police.