Man chokes on food while driving and sets off bizarre chain reaction of events including a fender bender, three injuries and a fireball exploding over a Walmart store



A man who choked on his food while driving started a bizarre chain reaction of events that led to a fireball exploding over a Walmart store in Deming, New Mexico.



Robert Sheppard, 61, was eating while driving last Saturday when he began to choke, which caused him to lose control of his pickup truck.



According to police, the pickup, traveling at a ‘high rate of speed,’ slammed into a sports utility vehicle carrying three people.

Fire in the sky: The bizarre chain of events incident occurred at the Walmart Superstore in Deming, New Mexico last Saturday and has resulted in three injuries

Propane gas: The explosion was caused by Shepherds' pickup truck hitting the tank after he lost control of his vehicle

After hitting the SUV, Sheppard's pickup drove towards the east store entrance of the local Walmart Superstore.



Along the way it ran into an outdoor barbecue grill, where it struck a propane tank attached to a grill , before ultimately hit the Wal-Mart wall.

Witnesses reported seeing a massive fireball that extended over the roof of the store. A Red Box video rental machine was also destroyed

Police say the explosion was so bright that it could not be seen on security video recordings. All they saw was an extremely bright light mask the scene, reports The Deming Headlight .



Three people were injured in the crash, Sheppard, Wal-Mart employee Robin Saucedo, 40, who was operating the grill, and customer Dirk Barris were all transported to the hospital with injuries.



Saucedo and Barris both sustained their injuries when the propane bottle powering the grill was ignited by a spark from the accident and exploded.



The driver and two passengers in the white SUV were uninjured.



Wal-Mart was closed for several hours Saturday afternoon as employees attempted to deal with the effects of the accident.







