A 26-year-old employee got trapped in the equipment at a North Carolina car wash and was fatally crushed to death, officials said.
Carolina “Brea” Franks, 26, was pronounced dead at Zips Car Wash in Weaverville on Saturday, the Weaverville Police said.
“She was working at the car wash, cleaning, and she got tangled up in a piece of equipment. When they found her, she was already dead,” Franks’ grandmother, Ernestine Franks, told WLOS.
Franks was raised by her grandmother since the age of six, the grieving relative explained. She returned home from visiting her grandmother in Kentucky just a few hours before her death.
Ernestine Franks learned of her granddaughter’s accident on Saturday evening from Franks’ fiancé’s father, she said.
“I was just with her, so I could not believe it. I was in shock,” she lamented.
Franks had been working at the car wash for about five months, Ernestine told WLOS.
“She enjoyed her job. She said it was a good job. She was special. She loved everybody. She loved animals. She’s just a nice young lady,” she recalled.
In addition to her fiancé and grandmother, Franks is survived by several extended family members and friends, her obituary stated.
A funeral service is set for Monday in Weaverville.
The North Carolina Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health was notified of the incident and is investigating, police said.
Zips Car Wash – which boats over 200 locations across 24 states – did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment Thursday.
A spokesperson, however, told WLOS that the company is cooperating with the investigation while the Weaverville location remains closed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our team member’s family in this time of loss. This is such an unfortunate tragedy,” read the statement added.
