Report: Driver Doesn’t Remember Nittany Mall Crash

The driver whose dump truck crashed Monday outside the Nittany Mall doesn’t remember the wreck and was feeling sick at the time, a State College crash report shows.

Douglas J. Watson, 49, of Philipsburg, was driving the truck east on the Benner Pike when it apparently went out of control at 1:35 p.m. Monday. Just west of the Nittany Mall Drive intersection, the report shows, the vehicle left the roadway and careened into the Nittany Mall parking lot.

It veered back up onto the Benner Pike before traveling back into the mall parking lot, where it came to rest against a light pole, witnesses said. Landscaping, some traffic signs and a couple parked cars were damaged in the incident, but no one appeared severely hurt, according to accounts at the scene.

The police-provided crash report, released Tuesday, shows that Watson had been experiencing flu-like symptoms Monday and did not sleep well Sunday night. Before the wreck Monday afternoon, he had eaten only a banana and part of a sandwich that day, according to the report.

A witness told police that Watson had his hands and arms raised — and was shaking up and down — when the crash happened.

Watson is diabetic and suffered a seizure earlier this month, the report shows. He was initially unconscious and unresponsive when emergency responders arrived at the crash scene, but was well enough later to be interviewed by police at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Police said he appeared to have suffered minor injuries.

The dump truck, registered to Terry L. Park Trucking, of Clarence, was loaded with stone and en route from the Hanson quarry in Lemont when it crashed, police said. It was bound for the prison construction site at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview.

Earlier coverage

• PHOTOS: Dump Truck Crashes into Nittany Mall Parking Lot (May 23, 2011)