An SUV crashed through the front glass of Starlight Hair and Nails on Bourbon Street in Peabody this week, lodging inside the salon, but, remarkably, nobody was hurt. The crash happened at 6A Bourbon Street.
Video of the moment captured the SUV crashing straight through the salon, according to CBS News Boston. The business's exact address and the extent of the damage were detailed by Boston 25 News, which identified the vehicle as a Honda SUV that smashed through the storefront glass.
Salon owner Ellen Hong told the station that the driver behind the wheel was actually one of her own clients. Despite a loud, jarring impact, no one inside the salon was injured.
Cleanup and Investigation Underway
Police officers and firefighters responded, and crews had pulled the SUV out of the Bourbon Street building by Tuesday afternoon. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
This is not the first time a North Shore salon has been struck by a runaway vehicle. In July, an SUV crashed through the front wall of Beijo Beauty salon on Newbury Street in neighboring Danvers, injuring three people, including the driver and two clients, according to Boston 25 News' earlier reporting. A similar incident unfolded in February 2025, when a driver lost control on Cambridge Street in Boston and crashed into a Sola Salons storefront near City Hall after striking a bike rack pole and a street sign, as reported by Patch.
A Nationwide Pattern of Storefront Crashes
These Massachusetts incidents fit into a much larger national problem. Vehicle-into-building crashes happen roughly 60 to 100 times every day across the United States, according to data compiled by the Storefront Safety Council. The organization estimates these crashes cause up to 2,600 deaths and 16,000 injuries nationwide each year, a toll detailed by ASIS International.
Pedal confusion and botched parking lot maneuvers are the leading causes behind these collisions, according to research from safety equipment provider Ideal Shield and the Storefront Safety Council. Within Massachusetts specifically, the state logs roughly 130,000 motor vehicle collisions a year and more than 300 roadway fatalities, per MassDOT crash data cited by the Brooks Law Firm.
Whether Peabody property owners or local officials will consider protective measures along Bourbon Street remains to be seen.
