A red Mini Cooper crashed right through the front window of Billy Corgan’s tea shop, Madame ZuZu’s, on Wednesday (October 30th) in Highland Park, Illinois, injuring the Smashing Pumpkins frontman’s mother-in-law.
Local news footage from WGN9 (watch below) shows the front of the car inside the tea shop with the windows completely blown out. Corgan’s wife Chloe shared details of the incident on Instagram, reporting that the couple’s son Augustus narrowly escaped injury, but that her mother Jenny was indeed hurt.
Chloe’s account of the incident reads as follows:
“This afternoon at Madame Zuzu’s, a car (in circumstances which remain under investigation) drove over the curb and into Madam Zuzu’s, crashing through the window and sadly injuring one person – my mother, Jenny; who was spending the day and lunching with my son Augustus. Thankfully, he was able to leap out of the way and was not injured. Our family is grateful for the swift assistance of the Highland Park and Deerfield first responders. To this, Madame Zuzu’s will be closed until further notice and we’ll provide updates as we move forward. Thank you for your support and understanding.”
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Billy Corgan shared his wife’s message on his own social media accounts. The alt-rock icon originally opened the tea shop in the Ravinia neighborhood of Chicago back in 2012. After closing it down in 2018, the rocker and Chloe re-opened the store at its current location in September 2020. In addition to selling tea, the shop offers a largely vegan menu of food items.
The crash comes just a couple days before the Smashing Pumpkins embark on a November tour of Latin America, and just a few days after Corgan announced a brief December solo tour of Australia.
See WGN9’s coverage of the car crash below, followed by Billy Corgan’s social share of his wife’s report on the incident.
Important notice about Madame Zuzu’s! Thank you for your support and understanding. pic.twitter.com/FSZgc2PUmP
— William Patrick Corgan (@Billy) October 30, 2024