Déjà vu for Missions Attic as car crashes into store
Published 5:24 pm Wednesday, February 7, 2018
GROVES — A late night call from police gave Mae Terro the feeling of déjà vu.
For the fifth time a vehicle has crashed into a building operated by Terro through the United Board of Missions. This latest crash occurred Tuesday night after a car hit the Missions Attic, 3300 Twin City Highway on the 32nd Street side of the building.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this cannot be happening again’, especially after everything else that has happened,” Terro, executive director of UBM, said.
Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds Jr. said foggy and wet conditions along with speed contributed to the one-vehicle accident.
“A vehicle was traveling northbound on Twin City Highway, left the roadway, traveled over H.E.B. property and over 32nd Street and hit the building,” Reynolds said.
No injuries were reported and the driver, who was the sole occupant of the car, was cited for failure to control speed.
Terro was at home working on a puzzle when the call came in from police. Due to the weather and time of the incident she was unable to find anyone to secure the building immediately but police assured her they would make extra patrols in the area.
Evidence of the crash was visible Wednesday inside of the resale store where a mirror lay cracked and broken, the affected wall leans askew and layers of insulation and building materials were crushed leaving a view to the outside.
There is insurance on the building and the driver of the vehicle that crashed has insurance as well, she said.
For now, it’s a waiting game for UBC — waiting for the temporary repair, waiting on a contractor, waiting on insurance and waiting on final repairs.
There will be some down time for the shop. Terro and workers will have to move racks of clothes and other items to another area and cordon off a space around the damaged wall, limiting the store’s functions.
“I can’t afford to have customers in this section,” she said as she leaned her head against a clothes rack, a resigned look on her face. “You read about people whose vehicles go into buildings but you never dream it would happen to you, much less five times. I’m certainly glad that if it was going to happen no one was here and no one got hurt. I know the driver certainly did not wish this to happen. This is something I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”
The Mission’s Attic has seen its share of facility problems. Hurricane Rita destroyed a previous location in 2005. A spin-off store, Attic Crossing, featured upscale items at a discounted price at 3301 Medical Triangle Drive on 32nd Street at Lombardy Drive.
The first crash was a minor one and clipped a corner of that building. Then there were three other crashes, much more damaging, that wiped out large windows.
The last crash at the 32nd Street and Lombardy Drive location was in 2013 and eventually led to the shop moving.
In addition, the UBM office, 6650 Ninth Ave., was destroyed during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey. Services to the public are being done out of another shop, Attic Treasures, 5239 39th St., Groves.
UMB is a coalition of mid and south county churches and volunteers who provide support programs to assist residents. They help with back to school, Share-A-Toy, and emergency services for families in danger of eviction, who are unable to pay for utilities or are in need of food and clothing, Meals on Wheels and more.