We hate to be the ones to break it to you, but America’s only national treasure, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, was involved in a roll over accident (note that is roll over and not roller like where you usually find wieners at 7-Eleven.) The deliciously shaped vehicle struck a car before rolling over on I-294 in Illinois.
According to Illinois State Police, the crash happened on the Tri-State Tollway near the village of Oak Brook around 11 a.m Monday, the Chicago Sun Times reports. There were no injuries in the crash, but the Wienermobile wasn’t so lucky:
The Wienermobile and a car were both going north on the tollway when the Wienermobile struck the car, lost control and rolled over, state police said. No injuries were reported.
The right lane on northbound Interstate 294 was shut down for more than an hour following the crash, officials said.
Images from the scene of the crash show the Wienermobile on its side on the interstate. Other images show the giant hot dog on wheels being hauled away by a tow truck. In a statement Oscar Meyer said it was grateful that there were no injuries in the crash and that it’s offering support for it’s “Hotdoggers” — apparently that’s what the company calls the employees that drive the Wienermobile.
“Safety on the road is top priority for us,” a company spokesperson said. According to the Wienermobile’s tracking site, its next scheduled stop was an event in Round Lake Beach, Illinois on July 27.
Oscar Mayer maintains a fleet of six Wienermobiles that travel across the country every year doing various events. Ongoing since 1936, the Wienermobile has been based on various vehicles over the years, such as a Dodge Ram 1500 in the early 2000s and a Chevy van chassis with Ford Thunderbird tail lights in the late 1980s. Most of them have been built by one company called Prototype Source in California. Today, they are all powered by GM’s 6.0-liter Small Block V8. There’s even a cute mini-Wienermobile (a vienna sausage machine?) based on a Mini Cooper S.
