BILLINGS — Two Billings businesses are picking up the pieces from their property after a vehicle careened off Interstate 90 Sunday night, hitting several cars at Veewee's, a Volkswagen restoration shop. One of those cars then crashed into Eagle Tattoo, but it's business as usual for both shops despite the chaos.
In the 11 years that Andy and Jolene Glover have had their Volkswagen repair business on Belknap Avenue, they've never experienced what happened Sunday night.
“Heartbreak, heartbreak," said Jolene.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a female driver was entering I-90 eastbound from 27th Street around 6:45 p.m. Sunday night. The vehicle blasted off the highway and through a fence right off the road at around 70 miles per hour.
"It looks like four of ours, customers and a friend of ours that had their car parked down here," Andy said.
All three in the car, including a male passenger and a 15-month-old baby were taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Highway patrol troopers said they were waiting for a toxicology report to see if drugs or alcohol were involved.
"The car getting wrapped up in the chain link, like, it did save them," added Andy.
The couple is thankful that no one died, but said it will be tough news to break to their affected customers.
“Devastated but understanding…this will be a setback with, well, unreplaceable vehicles," Andy said.
It became a domino effect for the business next door, Eagle Tattoo. One of the cars that was hit ended up crashing through their front window.
"When you get here, there's just carnage everywhere," said Eagle Tattoo employee, Josh Degele. "It's ugly. It's for everyone else, I mean, like I said, luckily I'm not as affected as everyone else, but it is still awful."
Both places said it'll be business as usual as they move forward from the chaos.
"Dealing with customers now and moving forward with what else we have in front of us. It's persevering," Andy.
