FORT WORTH, Texas — There's a reason Ken Mathieu knows a lot about auto body repair work. He owns and operates Ken's Body & Fender Works on Crowley Road in Fort Worth. He's been at the same location for the past 35 years. Not only is his son a skilled auto body repair expert, but so is one of his grandsons.
Ken Mathieu said, "Started this when I was 16 years old. Coming up on 72 now."
Ken has seen it all. Now, he said he expects to see much more after this week's ice storm.
"Usually its front bumpers get knocked off because they're all rubber nowadays and suspension or when they slide into a curve real hard," said Ken Mathieu.
Since the winter weather hit Monday, emergency crews have responded to ice storm-related vehicle accidents ranging from slide-offs to fender benders to fatal crashes.
Just after 11 p.m. Thursday after a good Samaritan stopped to help a stranded driver on Highway 287 near Berry Street, they were struck by a third driver who did not survive. The good Samaritan suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Then, just 45 minutes later at the Highway 360 and 183 interchange, a driver died after crashing into the back of a stalled vehicle in the northbound lane of the highway.
That same night, a semi-truck driver on East Loop 820 at the John T. White Street exit lost control on the ice and lost the tractor-trailer. During a separate crash on Loop 820, an SUV driver crashed into a Fort Worth Fire Truck. There were no serious injuries.
Ken Mathieu said, "People think because it's only a half-inch thick that they can drive right through it."
Ken warns if you've had a mishap behind the wheel, don't put off repairs because it could lead to even more expensive repairs.
"If the suspension is not right, you're better off taking it and having the tires balanced again and have a front-end alignment done on it," said Ken Mathieu.
Other North Texas auto repair shops shared with WFAA they are also bracing for the influx of repair requests related to the ice storm.