Truck driver delivering liquid CO2 dies from carbon dioxide poisoning

A Minnesota truck driver was found dead in the back of his truck Wednesday morning. He had been overcome by carbon dioxide when the chemical began leaking from the rear end of his truck.

According to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred in the McDonald’s parking lot around 9:30 am off Highway 65 in Spring Lake Park.

The police were called onto the scene after a 9-11 call came in about a seemingly unconscious man in the cargo area of his truck. When they arrived the CO2 was still pouring out of the back, and the driver was deceased.

Initially, the leak was thought to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the truck’s distribution system. Dave Eide witnessed the incident and told local news he saw it differently.

Eide stated that that it appeared as though the truck driver must have attempted to drive off with the liquid CO2 hose still attached to a fitting. He says he saw the hose outside the vehicle and described it as the hose ‘going wild’.

According to KARE11, a Eide had stopped at the McDonald’s for breakfast and noticed that something was going on with the truck. He tried to help the man, but apparently it was too late.

In a statement he gave to the news source he said, “I hopped out, went over…(thought) ‘something ain’t right.’ I opened the door of the truck, a bunch of smoke came at me…there was nothing I could do at that point. You couldn’t get in there to shut it off.” 

The owner of the delivery company refused to speak on camera but did say that a driver “error” was the cause of the accident.