We Texans have always placed rather strong emphasis on the importance of a careful coif. We know the value of a stylish ‘do. The Texas flair for “big hair” has become known throughout the world. A car accident in northwest Houston today reminds us where our priorities continue to stand.
A woman in her 70s, driving a Lexus, crashed through a storefront dragging down a 20 foot section of glass, devastating a waiting room, and coming to rest with her back bumper 6 feet inside the storefront. Then she calmly walked to the business next door for her hair styling appointment. Questioned by Houston police about the car accident as she sat in a stylist’s chair, she apparently told them that “her brakes stopped working” as she tried to park the car.
It takes a fair amount of acceleration to take a vehicle several feet inside a business from a parking lot. If one were to try to forcefully apply the brake, but accidentally hit the gas pedal instead, the resulting sudden burst of acceleration could take a vehicle out of control.
A news account of the Houston car accident mentions that the Lexus was driven carefully back out of the wrecked storefront to be towed. The account doesn’t mention further brake problems as the car made its way out to be towed. But careful driving can sometimes allow for natural slowing of the vehicle, so that’s not necessarily significant.
The owner of the wrecked storefront and waiting room remains with thousands of dollars in damages, whatever the cause of the wreck. If I were him, I’d hire an experienced Houston accident attorney immediately. An able Houston accident attorney could request the EDR (electronic data recorder) data from the vehicle. The EDR data should include the relevant seconds as the Lexus accelerated and shot through the storefront. Expert analysis of the EDR data is usually required to determine exactly what happened. But analysis of the EDR data could clarify whether the brakes suddenly failed or some other thing happened. An auto defect leading to sudden brake failure could provide the basis for a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
As experienced Houston accident attorneys ourselves, we’re relieved that no one was inside the wrecked acting studio to be injured at the time of the accident. We’re also relieved that the Lexus driver herself seems to have come through the startling accident unharmed (and even subsequently coiffed). Somehow that’s just quintessentially Texan.