Need Body Work Done? Get Ready to Wait in Line by Olivia Michael, WJHG News
Need to have auto body work done on your car locally? Well, get ready to wait - shops all over the area are struggling with long wait lists. Mike Horne, owner of Mike’s Auto Collision in Panama City, FL, said, “I have over 2,000 estimates waiting for hurricane work and we still have collision cars coming in regularly.”
Horne says his shop spent more than $50,000 trying to help locals get back on the road after Hurricane Michael. “We were trying to find a way to help the community besides clothes, water, food - we knew that was coming. So, what we did is we offered discounts to help people with their deductibles so they could use
Cameras at Collision Repair Shop in Mississippi Capture Tornado
those towards their homes instead of their cars but we take care of the cars,” said Horne. Mike’s Auto Collision repaired 1,800 cars as a result of Hurricane Michael, but Horne says 35,000 were damaged as a result of the storm leaving many people on a wait list. “Most cars, you know, you do a left side, right side, it’s out within a couple days or a couple weeks. With these cars having all over paint jobs on them you know it’s taking multiple hours, multiple time, tons of material to make these cars correct,” said Horne. And if you’re lucky enough to get your car in, be patient. He said, “There’s times we’ve had cars in here for a month, there’s times we’ve had cars in here for three, four months ... We don’t like it but we’re trying to find a way to fix that.” With thousands of cars still left to be repaired, Horne’s shop won’t be pumping the breaks any time soon. “But it’s going to be years until we fix the last hurricane car, and when we do it will be a very big party,” he said. We thank WJHG News for reprint permission.
by Chris Thies and Charles Herrington, WDAM 7 News
Surveillance cameras at an auto repair shop in Columbia, MS, captured dramatic video of an EF-2 tornado as it crossed the street and delivered a direct hit to the business. The cameras belong to Beal’s Collision Center on Old Foxworth Road. The business was in the direct path of the dangerous tornado as it tore a nearly seven-mile path of destruction through Marion County. The Beal’s Collision Center cameras filmed the approaching tornado from several angles outside the building. Another surveillance camera in the business office captured the
destruction from the inside. Beal’s Collision Center owner Blake Beal said about a dozen employees, managers and customers were at the business when the winds started to swirl. Beal said they knew they had to take action when they saw the tornado cross the Pearl River. “We took immediate action to get everybody down into a safe place and covered up, and we just started praying for protection,” said Beal. “It seemed like it took forever for it to hit us, but once it hit, it was quick and fast, and everybody was OK. We had a couple of people with some pretty bad bruising, but no life-threatening injuries.” We thank WDAM 7 News for reprint permission.
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