A woman crashed her car straight through the storefront of The Hair Society salon in Mauldin on Monday, arriving for her hair appointment in the most unexpected way possible. City officials say no one was injured, though the vehicle plowed through the glass front and into the shop itself.
According to FOX Carolina, the woman pulled into a parking space in front of the salon but apparently did not press the brake in time, sending her car through the storefront and into the store. Eyewitnesses told the outlet they heard her insist, “But I know I was pushing the brake!” City officials reported that the call about the crash came in around 10:24 a.m.
The salon's owner was inside at the time, but on the other side of the building, away from the point of impact, per the same account. City officials said the cost of the damage is still unknown, and as of the report, no charges had been filed in connection with the incident. FOX Carolina said it reached out to the South Carolina Highway Patrol for more information and was still waiting to hear back.
A Familiar Scene Across Greenville County
The Hair Society is a salon in Mauldin. Background reporting from the Upstate Business Journal discusses South Carolina business transactions. The crash damaged the salon's glass storefront.
This kind of crash is far from rare in the Upstate. In May, an SUV crashed through the glass and brick storefront of an Ingles grocery store on White Horse Road in nearby Greenville County, according to Pracht Injury Lawyers, which reported that the store was open.
Why These Crashes Keep Happening
The driver's account of believing she was pressing the brake lines up with what national data shows about these kinds of wrecks. The Storefront Safety Council has found that driver or pedal error causes 34 percent of all vehicle-into-building crashes, making pedal misapplication the single leading cause of storefront collisions. The organization also estimates that roughly 100 vehicle-into-building crashes happen every day across the United States, resulting in about 16,000 injuries and 2,600 deaths annually.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration separately estimates that pedal misapplication causes about 16,000 preventable crashes each year nationwide, occurring predominantly in low-speed environments like parking spaces and driveways. NHTSA research has also found that drivers under 20 and over 65 experience pedal error crashes roughly four times more often than middle-aged drivers, while a 2012 NHTSA study noted that female drivers accounted for nearly two-thirds of pedal misapplication crashes.
Local Emergency Response and Prevention Measures
The Mauldin Fire Department maintains a Class 1 ISO rating, according to the City of Mauldin. The city's broader public-safety planning is separate from the salon crash investigation.
Insurance coverage and physical protection for storefronts are broader issues raised by crashes like this.
Whether the South Carolina Highway Patrol will issue any citations, and what the final damage estimate at 150 Tanner Road will be, remain open questions for now.
