Vehicle crashes into Atascocita bakery, killing employee, injuring customer

A pickup truck crashed into the Nothing Bundt Cakes at 19250 West Lake Houston Parkway in Atascocita on Tuesday afternoon, killing an 18-year-old employee and injuring a customer inside the bakery. The impact tore through the storefront near FM 1960 and left investigators with a central question for the shopping center’s layout: how a vehicle was able to cross into an occupied retail space in the middle of the day.

Deputies were called to the business around 3:10 p.m., and the Atascocita Fire Department logged the incident at 3:14 p.m. as a major traffic collision. The driver, a man in his late 70s, was trying to park in front of the store when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The truck went through the front of the bakery and struck two people inside. The driver and his wife were not hurt.

The young employee died at the scene. Family members said she had graduated from Sconzo Early College High School in Humble in 2025, had worked at the store only a short time and was saving money for college before planning to enroll as a junior in the fall. Inside the bakery, five other employees were working in the back and were not injured. One worker said the team heard a loud crash and told reporters, “We thought the building was falling,” before running toward the front and realizing a co-worker was missing.

Brooke Bowman’s mother was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and was later stable. She had been ordering cakes for co-workers when the truck hit the storefront. She received stitches for injuries to her arms and legs and was expected to recover.

No signs of intoxication or a medical emergency were noted, leaving the question of possible charges unresolved. The case was expected to be forwarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office after further review by the Vehicular Crimes division. Hours after the crash, a tow truck removed the pickup from the wrecked bakery.