Woman gets more than $5,000 worth of car repairs paid for in deadly crash after Turning to Ted

Thursday, February 17, 2022
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- LaChundra Wright told Eyewitness News she typically goes to Prospect Park in the Galleria area every Wednesday and Friday night with her girlfriends.

"This is our spot," Wright told ABC13's Ted Oberg. "I support them. I spend money there. I bring people here who come from out of town, so I'm always there."

Wright said when she arrived to the restaurant on Oct. 1, she gave her keys to 22-year-old Eric Orduna like she normally does.

"My valet guy, he's the same valet guy that I've always had," Wright said. "Eric always tells me, 'Don't take the key.' He's like, 'Your car's going to shut off.' I was like, 'My bad.'"

Wright said after handing Orduna her keys, Orduna told her he would park the car in the overflow section. While she waited for him to come back, she decided to go inside and meet up with her friends.

"Me, wanting to feel good for happy hour, I was like, you know, let me go ahead and go to the bar, and go order my hookah like I normally do," Wright said. "So I went to the bar, came back out (and there's) lights flashing everywhere."

SEE ALSO: 3 valet workers identified in deadly crash caused by reckless driver near sports bar Friday night

Wright said she didn't realize how bad the crash was until she was ready to leave Prospect Park a few hours later.

Police said Orduna was among three valet workers killed when another valet worker from a different business lost control and crashed into them.

Ahmedal Tayeb Elnouman Modawi, who was a valet driver at Cafe Mawal, is accused of taking a customer's car without their permission on Oct. 1 and doing donuts in a nearby parking lot.

Police said Modawi was fleeing from police when he struck the other three valet workers. He was charged with three counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. The case is still pending in Harris County court.

SEE ALSO: 17-year-old appears before a judge for the first time since crash that killed 3 valet workers

After the crash, Wright said she asked the valet for her keys, but they told her Orduna had them when he was hit.

"It was a super shock because these guys do this every day. They go across the street, come back, bring the keys," she said. "It was just horrific. The scene was horrific. I just didn't know what else to do, and I was just like, 'Well, where are my keys?' They were like, 'Well, you were the last car he parked,' and so I just felt just horrible. At that point, I just started to cry."

As officials started their investigation in the middle of the night, Wright said she asked officers to help her find her keys since she couldn't get past the crime scene tape. Wright said no one could find her keys and she eventually took an Uber more than 30 miles home in Spring.

Wright said she asked Prospect Park to tow her car to a BMW dealer so she could get another key made, but when she went back to the bar the next day, a locksmith who Prospect Park reached out to was working on her car.

After someone from MHS Locksmith worked on her car, it wouldn't start, even with a new key.

"My car was already broken down. Like my whole computer system was on the floor at this point," Wright said.

She said her car was eventually towed to a BMW dealership, where the service department told her two major computer components were damaged.

The dealership got her car up and running, but someone had to pay the $5,604 bill for repairs.

Wright said after two months of asking Prospect Park and MHS Locksmith who would pay for the repairs so that she could get her vehicle back, she still couldn't get an answer. So, she Turned to Ted.

"I knew you were going to take care of business, Ted. You don't play, so thank you for that," Wright said.

We called Prospect Park and MHS Locksmith to get more information about who was responsible for paying for the repairs.

Prospect Park told us it paid thousands out of pocket for a rental car for Wright, but that MHS Locksmith was responsible for the repairs.

Prospect Park management said the three valet workers who died were carrying three sets of keys. Managers said the morning after the crash, they called the locksmith to help the three customers whose keys were lost.

There were no other issues with the other two cars, but the restaurant said the locksmith was taking a long time on Wright's BMW.

Speaking of Wright's car keys, a manager said once it took the entire day without completion, they had the vehicle towed to the dealership.

Prospect Park tells us it "kept in constant communication" with Wright to make sure she didn't have to pay to get her vehicle back.

MHS Locksmith declined to comment, but after several calls and texts from our Turn to Ted team, they eventually said "the repair was paid in full."

"They came with a check and they brought it to BMW directly," Wright said. "It's done. I got my key."

SEE RELATED STORY: 'I had no idea it was my car:' Owner of car in deadly crash didn't realize his vehicle was involved

For the latest investigations, follow Ted on Facebook and Twitter.

Have a tip for Ted Oberg? A problem to solve? Get in touch with us on our tip page, or send a tip below. (On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.