Abbey Askew is a furniture refinisher and vintage reseller with hundreds of thousands of followers. She posts frequently about her furniture flips and DIY projects leading to profitable sales. Askew isn’t one to shy away from showing viewers exactly how she turns a buck. In one recent video, though, her tone changed. She posted an important PSA to drivers who keep a lot of loose objects in their cars…as she did until realizing the dangers.

She always seemed to have her Chevy Tahoe stuffed to the gills with either sharp, heavy, or fragile items.

When Askew was in high school, she bought her dream car: a Jeep Wrangler. Unfortunately, it came with a hefty car payment (that took a good chunk of her Subway sandwich-making income). 

After she started her furniture business, she decided to buy a used car with cash and make sure it fit her needs, not a socio-aesthetic vision U.S. drivers often chase. So, about five years, she got a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe.

She loved the SUV. It wasn’t only because of the freedom from that monthly car note. The Tahoe held her tools, curbed finds, and inventory to and from her booth or shows. In her social media posts, the Tahoe always seemed filled with her company property.

In early December 2024, Askew posted about an eye-opening life event asking other drivers to listen up. “I always thought it was funny to have a ‘mess girl car…’” she begins.

“Can you imagine being taken out by a brass lamp?”

Askew was involved in a car accident that completely smashed the front end of the Tahoe.

The vehicle was towed off-scene. When she went to visit the vehicle later, she realized that instead of a silly “messy girl car,” the items in the Tahoe could have easily become deadly projectiles.

At the time of the accident, she was hauling a glass mirror from a dresser, which shattered all over the cabin.

The items in her car, including sharp and heavy objects, were scatted and tossed everywhere inside. “Had I turned my wheel to get out of the way and flipped, any one of these items could’ve taken me out like a flying dagger or bowling ball,” Askew explains to other drivers, “So I’m begging you to please be careful what you carry in your vehicle.”

Askew says that after her grim realization, she’s going to switch from an SUV to a pickup truck. This way, her inventory is separated from the occupants. Drivers who need to stick to their current ride, though, should watch her reel and take note of her advice.