It began as a routine Thursday for Carl Brewer. He dropped off his daughter at day care and headed to the Jiffy Lube on Oak Street to get his brakes replaced before heading into work.
"Seemed like a routine job," he commented.
But, it was a routine that quickly fell apart.
While sitting in the waiting room, Brewer said he overheard a technician talking to the manager.
"He said, 'Everything fell off.' And the manager was like, 'What do you mean everything fell off?' And he was like, 'All the wheels fell off!' " recounted Brewer.
Initially, he said he didn't think anything of it. It couldn't be his car they were referring to. But it was.
A few minutes later, the technician told Brewer the news in person.
"That's when he told me the windshield was busted and he actually went through two signs," added Brewer.
The technician had been test-driving the car after the brake replacement when the wheels fell off, according to Brewer.
"I was in shock," he said, after first coming upon the crash site.
His immediate thought, however, was about how much worse it could have been.
"What if I had been doing that with my daughter?" he said. "I pick her up after work, as well. If it had failed a couple hours later, that could have been a possibility."
Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Brewer said it has been a headache dealing with Jiffy Lube ever since.
He said the company initially offered to reimburse him for a rental car, but he said that would have caused him to pay hundreds of dollars upfront. Worried he would get stuck with the bill, he argued for them foot the payment. They finally acquiesced, agreeing to pay for a rental car for a week.
They also reimbursed him for his daughter's car seat that was damaged in the crash.
The franchisee released a statement, reading:
"As a local family-owned company, we pride ourselves in our guest experience and partnership with the community. We certainly understand the seriousness of this recent event and are working diligently and directly with the guest to resolve the matter. We are thankful no one was injured and we are committed to ensuring that our processes and procedures regarding quality and training are reinforced so that such an incident does not happen again. Please know that this is our top priority to correct this and earn your trust once again."
A media spokesperson said the cause of the crash is still unknown, but "the franchisee is reviewing information around the service visit, interviewing service center employees and inspecting the vehicle to determine the cause of the accident."
This article originally appeared on Bakersfield Now.
