HOULTON – A local man escaped serious injury but significantly damaged his vehicle after a midday accident in Market Square on Tuesday.

Officer Daniel Norton of the Houlton Police Department said that Andrew Phillips, who is believed to be from the Houlton area, was pulling into Market Square off Water Street just before 1 p.m. when a piece of hard candy that he was chewing on became lodged in his throat.

Coughing, Phillips steered the vehicle into a nearby parking spot in front of Key Bank. Somehow, the 1994 Dodge Ram that he was driving ran up over a curb in front of the parking space and hit a lamppost in Market Square.

Norton said that Phillips told him that he could not remember what happened after he pulled into the parking space, but the driver did not believe that he lost consciousness.

Phillips was not wearing a seat belt and suffered facial abrasions after his head hit the steering wheel. He did not require medical treatment.

The truck received an estimated $3,000 in damage, according to Norton, and the base of the lamppost was broken during the incident.

No charges will be filed.

Houlton police Officer Ezekiel Collins assisted at the scene, as did members of the Houlton Fire Department and officials from the Houlton Water Co.