A grandfather was killed in a freak accident — getting crushed to death while trying to pay at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Nebraska, police said.
Michael “Mike” Dickinson, 69, suffered fatal injuries after he somehow got trapped between the payment window and his car at the fast food chain’s outpost in Grand Island on Tuesday morning, according to local cops.
Grand Island Police Division Chief Dean Elliott told local outlet KSNB-TV that the harrowing incident was “100% a freak accident.”
“It appears the deceased opened the door to further reach out of the window for payment purposes,” he said.
“We’re not sure if the vehicle lurched forward or what happened, but he became pinned between the door frame and the drive-thru window counter.”
Dickinson was rushed to an area hospital, but could not be saved, the Grand Island Police Department said in a statement.
A McDonald’s employee tried valiantly to help by vaulting through the passenger side of the car, but ultimately couldn’t free Dickinson, and was injured and also taken to the hospital for treatment, Elliott told KSNB.
Dickinson, a dedicated grandfather, had his right leg amputated in September 2021, his daughter wrote in a Facebook post, noting he was fitted with a prosthetic that December and re-learned how to walk.
It’s unclear how, or why, Dickinson’s leg was removed.
He had celebrated his 32nd wedding anniversary with his wife in July.
The couple lived in Grand Island their entire life and attended the same high school, according to their Facebook profiles.
Dickinson’s mourning relatives remembered “his love” on their first Christmas without him, recalling his willingness “to help and be there when it mattered most” in an online post.
“A skilled and hardworking mechanic, Michael took pride in his work and had a gift for fixing what was broken. It reflected who he was – reliable, practical, and dedicated,” his family wrote online.
“Though his life was cut short, Michael’s love, loyalty, and kindness will live on in the hearts of his family and friends. He will be dearly missed and always remembered.”
The police dept.’s Accident Reconstruction Team was helping with the ongoing investigation.
