MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — According to a news report from WJLA, on April 19th, Maryland State Police closed four Flagship Car Wash Centers across Montgomery County without warning.
Customers were turned away and cleared from the Flagship location along Chapman Ave. in Rockville, Maryland, at around 1 p.m. Sunday by four marked police vehicles, stated the report.
Flagship’s locations in Gaithersburg, Germantown and a second location in Rockville were also closed by police, continued the article.
Krysti Hinton, the owner of Flagship Car Wash Centers, informed the news outlet that she was stunned to find state troopers clearing customers from her Maryland locations.
“They said, ‘We got a call about your business,’” Hinton stated. “And when they came to shut us down, they wouldn’t even show us the governor’s orders because they’re [apparently] not allowed to?”
Complicating matters, according to Hinton, Flagship handles multiple contracts with identified essential businesses, including the U.S. Secret Service, National Institutes of Health, Rockville Police and Montgomery County Police.
“I have an email from the Maryland governor’s office telling us they cannot make a ruling on carwashes,” Hinton explained. “I have the essential business list and it says, ‘car maintenance can still be open.’”
Hinton added, “I know it’s a job, they had to do it, but the state police even seemed to think it was ridiculous. I have employees who have been with me from 25 to 30 years. I mean, they’ve got kids, this is their livelihood.”
Flagship operates nine locations across Washington D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia; according to the news report, the four Virginia locations remained open, while the Washington D.C. and Maryland sites are now closed until further notice.
As noted in the article, according to Maryland State Police, carwashes are not considered “essential” by Gov. Larry Hogan nor the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s essential worker guidelines.
“There are unique situations that allow for carwashes to perform private disinfecting services for essential vehicles, such as medical and food transportation,” Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said. “A trip out to simply wash the dirt off your vehicle would be considered non-essential travel during this state of emergency.”
Read the original article here.
