Southeast Topeka drive-thru rollover may have medical roots

A woman in her early 20s suffered injuries not considered life-threatening Thursday evening when the pickup truck she was driving through a fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru area struck two vehicles, jumped a curb and then rolled after striking a tree near an entrance to the eatery.

Authorities were looking into the possibility that a medical issue contributed to the wreck, which drew a crowd of onlookers.

Emergency personnel responded about 5:30 p.m. to the McDonald’s restaurant on the northeast corner of S.E. 29th and California.

Crews gathered around the driver’s-side door of the upside-down red Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck as they worked to wedge the door open and remove the driver, who initially was thought to have suffered serious injuries.

The driver, the truck’s only occupant, was placed on a stretcher amid a throng of people in the parking lot as nearby rush-hour traffic flowed slowly past.

Paramedics upon further evaluation downgraded the severity of the woman’s injuries.

Topeka police Lt. Chuck Haggard said the incident with the truck began in the drive-thru of the McDonald’s. He said the truck accelerated, struck two vehicles, and then drove over a curb and up a small tree, which rolled the vehicle onto its top in a grassy area near the S.E. California entrance to McDonald’s.

No other people were injured. The other two vehicles sustained minor damage.

Haggard said a medical issue may have been to blame for the incident, but authorities were still investigating that possibility.

Initial reports indicated a second person had been ejected from the vehicle, but that wasn’t the case. Authorities surmised that perhaps one of the logs that was flung from the truck’s bed during the incident may have looked like a person and prompted the report.