One driver who crashed his SUV into a pole in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, on April 23 actually blamed his collision on his mask. He told police he passed out because he’d been wearing an
N95 mask for too long. Initially, the investigating officers believed him, writing in a
Facebook post that he was the only person in the car and passed out due to “insufficient oxygen intake/excessive carbon dioxide intake.”
The post was shared more than 2,700 times and received hundreds of comments, with a few sharing their own experiences of feeling smothered by this type of mask. The police department later updated their post, stating that they didn’t know “with 100% certainty” that “excessive wearing” of an N95 mask was a contributing factor to the accident. They added that “it is certainly possible that some other medical reason could’ve contributed to the driver passing out.”