Technician’s Windshield Install Saves Lives

Accredited master technician John Payne of John Paynes Auto Glass in Riverton, Wyo., saved the lives of Joe and Doris Apadaca as the result of a wind-shield replacement he recently did to their van. Payne has known the Apadacas for years and considers them his good friends. “I know the couple from before I got into the glass business,” says Payne.

Joe Apadaca initially brought the family minivan to Paynes Auto Glass to have the windshield replaced. A rock chip had spread, obstructing the driver’s view. Six months later, the Apadacas were driving home from a doctor appointment when a deer jumped in the wrong direction to avoid the family’s van. Instead of avoiding the Dodge Grand Caravan, the deer completely missed the hood and slammed directly into the windshield.

Upon inspection it was clear that the properly installed windshield saved Joe and Doris Apadaca. If the deer had hit the windshield already compromised by the chip and driver-obscuring cracks, the damage would have been far greater.

“Without the knowledge of the AGSC/AGRSS safety standards for proper methods of installation and proper training, which is all too common in my area, this event could have gone a very different way,” says Payne. “My friends very well may not be here to tell the story.”

Doris was so thankful she brought John home-baked cookies. With tears of joy, she thanked him for doing such a good job and allowing her and her husband to walk away from such a serious accident.

John Payne has been in the auto glass industry for nine years and has owned Paynes Auto Glass for two years with his wife Carol who is also an accredited AGSC technician. “I am one of five AGSC registered companies in the state of Wyoming,” says Payne. “I see faulty installs on a daily basis.”

His previous employer was not a member of AGSC. John felt so strongly about working for an AGSC company that he started his own. John is not only an AGSC Master Technician, he holds a NWRD certification, Dow Chemical certification, Delta Kits repair certificate, and is a committee member of the AGSC/AGRSS safety standard committee.

-Erin Miller

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