Paint and body shops across North Texas are bracing for a rush of business from this week’s ice storm.
“We’re always ready for it,” said Dan Hughes, manager of the Northeast Body Shop.
The motto on the front door of the North Richland Hills shop reads, “Your dent pays our rent.”
One of the cars waiting for repairs is Julie Barnes’ Nissan.
"I was just like a bumper car,” she said.
Barnes said she drove across an icy bridge in south Fort Worth and saw several cars stalled in front of her.
"I was just hanging on to my steering wheel thinking, ‘I'm just going to have to hit them,'" she said. "So that's what I did. It was kind of crazy."
Her car was severely damaged, and her air bag deployed, but she was not injured.
Fort Worth alone recorded about 500 crashes between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Wednesday, meaning body shops will stay busy for weeks.
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“It is very good for business,” Hughes said. “(It) keeps the doors open.”
