ACWA Member Richard Holloway, the owner of Carwash Headquarters and a man who thought he had seen it all, found himself in a new predicament in a tale that could only be scripted in the world of car washing.
The culprit, a Lamborghini and a driver who, in a moment of confusion, mistook the accelerator for the brake.
It all unfolded on an unassuming day at the Carwash Headquarters in Bundall, where a Lamborghini, a rare gem and one of just 10 in the entire country, was undergoing a routine wash. However, as the driver exited the car wash and turned the corner, things took a dramatic turn – quite literally.
In a demolition job that would have made Wheelan the Wrecker flinch, the Lamborghini’s driver turned the corner and inadvertently floored the accelerator, propelling the car across the front yard and directly into a power pole. The pole that powered the car wash and two adjacent sites snapped like a gum tree branch, leaving the car wash in darkness and the Lamborghini looking more like a crumpled tin can than a luxury vehicle.
The driver’s quick-thinking wife, driving a white car following behind, promptly pulled over to check on her husband, proving that love truly knows no bounds – not even when faced with a completely totalled $800,000 vehicle.
Fortunately, the driver emerged from the chaos relatively unscathed, albeit a bit shaken.
Despite the unexpected chaos, Richard and his team at Carwash Headquarters showed remarkable resilience. They didn’t let the incident wash away their spirits, installing a generator the very next day to keep the business running while repairs were underway.
The aftermath of this unexpected crash was no laughing matter. It took a whopping six weeks and a total cost of $90,000 to replace the pole, manufacture a new meter box, and rewire the entire site, including two adjacent properties that relied on the same power source. In a stroke of luck, insurance covered most of the expenses, but it was a costly and inconvenient ordeal nonetheless.
As for the Lamborghini, it seems the days of cruising Brisbane’s streets are over. It’s now on a one-way ticket to the junkyard, but at least it’s going out in a style worthy of its hefty price tag.
