Coughing fit leads to seven-car pileup in midtown Tulsa

A coughing fit led to a violent crash that damaged or destroyed seven vehicles late Thursday morning in midtown Tulsa.

Police at the scene told KRMG the driver explained he had bronchitis, and had a violent coughing fit as he was driving southbound on Sheridan Road.

He says he didn't see cars stopped for a light at E. 41st Street.

He ended up plowing between the two lanes of traffic, hitting cars on both sides of his vehicle, then smashing into a pickup truck, which then hit the car in front of it.

The coughing driver's vehicle ended up wedged beneath the back of the pickup.

Happily, no one was injured in the wreck, but five of the seven vehicles had to be towed and at least three looked as if they were totaled.

Police say they cited the driver of the blue car for inattentive driving.

He also didn't have insurance -- so he got a ticket for that.

"And we impounded the car," an officer told KRMG, "what's left of it."