automatic car wash supposedly hassle-free. In an ideal world, motorists would stop, pay and relax for five minutes while “magic hands” do their job. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and as one Pennsylvania man recently discovered, automatic car washes can be uncomplicated.
Local News shared a video of the incident, which shows the driver skirunning into the car wash before hitting the machinery and overturning. It looks like the man hit the wrong gas when he entered the wash, causing the car to crash into the equipment inside.
The image taken later shows a dented piece of silver Toyota toward him at the Colmar, Pa. car wash. The 77-year-old driver was trapped in the vehicle, requiring a 90-minute rescue effort. They eventually stripped the roof of the car to get him out. He was taken to a local hospital, where he is expected to recover. Bystanders couldn’t help but marvel at what they had just witnessed, with one man saying: “I can’t even imagine the process of a car overturning in a car wash.”
The car wash owner was grateful there were no serious injuries but acknowledged the impact the crash had on his business. “We are relieved that no one was seriously injured,” he said. Action News WPVI 6. “This is a very unfortunate accident for our customers and equipment. It’s not easy being a small business owner, accidents like these don’t get any easier.” He said the car wash’s customers, staff and support team will help the salon get through the situation.
Statistics on car wash injuries and deaths are thin, but there are stories of people being seriously injured and killed. In April 2022, a man died after leaving his car at an automatic car wash. He got out of the car and got stuck between it and washing equipment. In 2020, another man died at a car wash in Texas. While working in the washroom, the man got stuck in the machine.
