Durango salon owner picks up pieces after vehicle crashes through business

Friday, May 3, 2024 5:00 AM

Hair studio will likely be closed for a month during repairs

Durango Police Department officers and Durango Fire Protection District firefighters respond to a vehicle that crashed through Shear Mischief hair salon on Tuesday at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7. The crash was the result of a driver accidentally hitting the gas pedal rather than the brake, police say. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

It was an average Tuesday evening for Shear Mischief hair salon owner Becky Guillet.

She was simply coloring a client’s hair when, all of a sudden, a 2020 Volvo XC 60 burst through the front of her business at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7.

“Someone else's client was coming in to park,” Guillet explained. “She was coming in pretty fast and I saw her pop the curb and just kind of kept coming.”

The vehicle smashed through the entrance at 5:30 p.m., coming within a foot of Guillet and her client, who was sitting in the styling chair. A spray of debris and shattered glass came within inches of the stylist and her customer.

Becky Guillet stands shaken up and in disbelief after a vehicle crashed through Shear Mischief hair salon on Tuesday at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7. Guillet was working on a client’s hair at the time of the crash. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Guillet’s immediate concern was for her client and protecting her from harm, she said.

Once Guillet and her client realized they were safe, they called 911. Both were shaken by the incident but neither suffered injuries.

The Durango Police Department identified the driver as 63-year-old Durango resident Cynthia Murphy.

The Shear Mischief studio hair salon chair where owner Becky Guillet was working on a customer’s hair when a car came crashing through the business on Tuesday at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Murphy told officers she was trying to apply the brake but the vehicle kept moving forward, said DPD Cmdr. Jacob Dunlap.

But officers suspect Murphy was hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake which caused the vehicle to accelerate over the parking block and into the building. When officers backed up the vehicle, they found the brake to be functioning properly, Dunlop said.

“It did appear that the brakes were functioning normally because he (an officer) backed it down and it immediately stopped,” Dunlap said.

Murphy, who appeared uninjured, was cited for reckless driving. Alcohol is not suspected.

No cost estimate was immediately available for the building.

The salon entrance remained boarded up Thursday. A steel beam was installed to keep the structure from collapsing.

Guillet said she expects to be out of business for at least a month.

Durango Police Department officers and Durango Fire Protection District firefighters respond to a vehicle that crashed through Shear Mischief hair salon on Tuesday evening at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

“I don't even know what I'm going to do,” she said of the lost revenue.

Shear Mischief is one of several salons and barbershops in the Durango Suites and Salons complex at 2929 Main Ave. Guillet said she has been receiving support from fellow stylists.

“They've all come together and are just trying to make sure that I'm taken care of,” she said.

tbrown@durangoherald.com

Becky Guillet was working on a client’s hair when a vehicle crashed through the wall of Shear Mischief hair salon Tuesday at 2929 Main Ave., Suite A7, in Durango. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)