Texas teen learns the hard way that cars don’t fly

A teenager had only minor injuries after crashing his car through the wall of a parking garage and into the roof of a plumbing and hardware store several stories below.

Houston Fire Capt. Al Castillo said the vehicle fell seven stories, flipping upside down along the way. Once the car landed, the driver got out and was able to crawl through the debris. Firefighters had to pop open a locked door to the business to get to him.

Castillo said the driver wasn’t seriously hurt.

“He’ll make a full recovery. He’s very fortunate, obviously,” Castillo said. “God was on his side.”

He said it was a good thing too that the car didn’t start a fire, which could have then spread to neighboring businesses.

Westheimer Plumbing and Hardware owner Doug Hermance said he was at his daughter’s bridal shower when he got a call about what had happened.

“It’s unbelievable that anybody lived through that,” Hermance said.

He said the business, which has been at that location for six years, will be closed two to three months because of damage. The plumbing and wiring will have to be redone.

“The initial reaction is that it must be a joke. I mean how can that possibly happen?” Hermance said. “You can understand that someone drove through the front of your store, but came in through the top? That’s nothing we would have expected.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2017 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Texas teen learns the hard way that cars don’t fly."