TOWING NEWS

AN EXPENSIVE TOW

An Ontario fleet has said that its tractortrailer is being held hostage in Chicago, Illinois. RoadStar Trucking, the fleet, is attempting to recover a tractor and trailer that a Chicago-area towing company impounded on August 12.

Four men from VIP Towing reportedly appeared and informed the driver that they had permission from RoadStar general manager Joe Smelko to tow the truck. The driver did sign a “pre-tow disclosure,” granting the employees permission to tow the equipment. Smelko, however, insists that he never granted such permission and does not even have his company’s authorization to do so.

After contacting the company to find out how much it would cost to recover the equipment Smelko was informed it would be a whooping US$20,000. The invoice was broken down as: US$2,495 for towing; US$2,495 for winching; US$1,995 for debris cleanup; US$2,995 heavy wrecker fee; US$3,570 for labor (two workers at $595 per hour each); US$2,985 for truck time; US$350 per day for storage; and US$1,723 administrative fee.

RoadStar is choosing to fight back filing a claim with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois and is demanding the return of its equipment and $50,000 in damages.

HEAVY RESCUE VISIT

A new Sarnia tow truck is expected to debut during the upcoming season of Heavy Rescue: 401, but several residents and tourists were able to catch a sneak peek of the machine when it was parked downtown in the city of Sarina.

A red 2020 Rotator was parked along Christina Street for a few hours during the city’s new pedestrian zone pilot project. It will be Preferred Towing’s latest truck to appear on the Discovery Canada series when season five debuts in January.

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce also saw the “Famous Rotator” appear at the Weekend Walkabout on August 22, 2020.

Sarnia, Ontario’s Preferred Towing has a new truck set to appear on the latest season of Heavy Rescue: 401.

An Ontario fleet has said that its tractor-trailer is being held hostage with a $19,000 price tag in Chicago, Illinois.

INNOCENT INJURED

An assassination attempt in what was part of the GTA’s tow truck war occurred on Monday, July 20, 2020 says a police report.

On Monday, July 20, 2020, at 9:21 a.m., police were called for a shooting in the Meadowvale Rd. and Hwy. 401 area where “a man was driving westbound on Hwy. 401,” according to the police report. A passenger sitting in the rear of the Toyota Corolla pointed a firearm at the man and shot at his vehicle multiple times.

The man in the car “sustained a gunshot wound that was deemed non-life threatening.”

Later on, July 27, Durham Regional Police reported a male shot in his driveway on Woodview Dr. in Pickering by a male in a white car. Detectives released a surveillance video of a man getting out of a car with a handgun and firing four times at a victim in his driveway who tried to escape. Fortunately, the man survived and is recovering.

The victim of this shooting was 58-year-old Mano Subramaniam who owns T Dot Auto Collision, GL Towing, Prime Towing, Seven Star Towing and is a partner with Williams Towing which has police contracts.

Police discovered that the shooting the week before on Hwy. 401 was meant for him.

The innocent man shot on Hwy. 401 was a doctor who was on his way to his shift to help with COVID-19 issues at a Toronto hospital.

It was a case of mistaken identity.