Trucker Chokes on Chili, Gives House a New Back Door

(WBZ)

LOWELL, Mass. (CBS/AP) It could end up being the most expensive meal Eric Gremm has ever eaten - hope it was worth it. Gremm, a flatbed lumber truck driver, told authorities in Massachusetts that he was eating chili when he went over a bump. choked and lost consciousness, just before his truck plowed into a house.

Photo: Eric Gremm crashed his flatbed into a house after choking on chili.

Lowell police say the truck ran off the road Jan. 29, crashed through a white picket fence and then crashed through the back of the house in Lowell, Mass., about 35 miles from Boston.

The owner of the house was home at the time but luckily was not in the kitchen, which was demolished. Police say that otherwise she likely would have been killed.

The 59-year-old driver sustained only minor injuries from the crash. The house, however, will probably have to be torn down because the damage was so extensive.

Police say Gremm will likely be cited for eating while driving. The truck is owned by Sherburne Lumber Company of Tyngsborough, Mass. No word yet on whether they will be footing the bill for rebuilding the house.

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