'I don't want anyone to die': Salon owner devastated after three cars crash into her shop
The owner of a hair salon which has been smashed into by three cars in just 10 months has spoken of her devastation and the need for change in the area.
Rachel Oliver has run Hair by Rachel Michelle on the Coalway Road in Wolverhampton since 2016, and says the salon has had "no protection at all" since the second crash damaged the nearby railings.
In less than a year, the property has sustained significant damage from three almost identical car crashes in the middle of the night, the most recent of which happened on Saturday.
The 33-year-old from Walsall said: "I'm gutted. I've almost got no emotion anymore. After the first accident, I walked into the salon and just cried and cried and cried, but now I'm just in survival mode. There's no front on the shop left. There's nothing."
Rachel is appealing for the driver from Saturday's crash to come forwards after they fled the scene, as the licence plate is not clear enough to read on the CCTV footage due to the glare of the car's headlights.
The salon owner said: "I’m asking for everyone to help find the most recent car which crashed into the salon. They haven’t stopped just reversed off from the accident and drove off.
"The car was coming down Coalway road (towards Merry hill), clipped the island and hit straight through the shop front, and after the accident reversed straight out and drove off down Oxbarn Avenue.
"The accident happened around 4.09am on February 4. It is a black Vauxhall Astra, a car part was found at the scene putting the model between a 2012-2016. If anybody can send us footage, I would really appreciate any help anyone can give us.
"We are in desperate need of the registration of the car, or the person to come forward."
It comes after a police chase on March 21 where a car smashed through the window and damaged the brick work, and another crash on Christmas Day, just 16 days after new windows had been installed.
Rachel says that the circumstances leading to the crashes were "identical", with a "speeding" car hitting the island on Coalway Road, causing it to veer into the shop.
"I just don't want anyone to die," she said. "Another accident happened opposite the salon last Wednesday. A driver overtook a learner driver, narrowly missed a pedestrian and hit another car, destroying three gardens."
Rachel was forced to cancel all of her appointments on Saturday but is now at a place where she can reopen again for clients.
She has also faced difficulties with insurance due to the crashes, as she said: "Every time we're taking a step forward with the insurance, we're going 10 steps backwards. It's causing huge problems for the landlord with insurance too."
Rachel has written to Wolverhampton Council's safety team since the second accident and is hoping for road safety measures to be implemented in the area.
She hopes to install new artwork on the front of the shop to campaign for better road safety, transferring road safety art made by local children onto the salon.
