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Tower Assaulted with Knife
On November 8th a tow truck driver, in an attempt to retrieve his stolen tow truck at a mall in Everett, Washington, was assaulted by a man sitting behind the wheel, who swung a knife at him, nearly missing his throat, according to court reports.
When the suspect swung the knife, the owner punched him in self-defense. The man fled the scene, but shortly after, an officer with a police dog found the man hiding inside a dumpster across the street.
The man was arrested for firstdegree assault and possession of a stolen vehicle and booked into the county jail.
Source: heraldnet.com
Towers Working OT in South Florida
During Tropical Storm Eta’s intense rains, Miami and Fort Lauderdale roadways and streets had become saturated with water, causing towers to work around the clock to rescue stranded drivers.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said there was no place for the water to drain as water levels had even risen in the canals. Tow trucks were seen going in and out of areas, removing cars that were left stranded in the middle of the roadway.
One tow truck driver told a local news reporter that he had towed 17 vehicles by noon. “I’ve been to places where it’s more than 4 feet, 5 feet (of water),” said Max Rodriguez with South Florida Wreckers. “They think they can go through the puddles and it’s not safe.”
Another tow truck driver, Anthony Perez with Master Tow, was just trying to help his fellow South Floridians. “It’s actually not about the business, we’re helping the community today,” he said. “We’re just helping everybody get out of here for free.”
Source: local10.com
Lee’s Towing. Vandalized
Wyoming Tow Company
Lee’s Towing of Wheatland, Wyoming was a target of vandalism when several of their tow trucks were shot up with bullets sometime after October 11 by an unknown shooter still at large.
The incident was discovered by owner Jeremy Lange and his wife Tiffany when they took their trucks out on calls. In both instances, their motors seized up and needed to be towed back to the business.
The bullets, found to have penetrated the engines and radiators, damaged three of their units - a 2015 F450, a 2019 35-ton Peterbilt, and a 2012 55-ton In Oklahoma, throughout the week of
November 9-15, the Oklahoma Highway
Patrol commemorated National Traffic
Incident Response Awareness Week, bringing awareness to the “Move Over”
Law (State Statute 47:11-314.) Troopers used the week to educate drivers during traffic stops and explain the importance of the “Move Over” law for the safety of law enforcement, emergency responders and motorist assists near the roadway. Officers were watching for those who failed to yield, slow down or move over for emergency vehicles on the shoulder with emergency lights activated. In addition, the Oklahoma Turnpike
Authority and Oklahoma Department of Transportation had message boards Peterbilt. Their flatbed was also hit, but only sustained body damage. According to company owner Jeremy Lange, the damage could go up to somewhere around $1M.
Lange said, “We moved our kids here because it was a small town. We thought that things like this wouldn’t happen in a small town.”
Stauffer’s Towing from Salt Lake City loaned Lee’s Towing two heavy wreckers to help the company continue serving its customers.
Source: pcrecordtimes.com
Oklahoma highway troopers.
reminding drivers to slow down and move over for stationary emergency vehicles.
Source: tulsaworld.com
Tower Downed in Tennessee
Around 10 p.m. on Oct. 27, Robert Clayton, a tow truck driver with Monteagle Wrecker Service of Monteagle, Tn., lost his life as he was struck by an 18-wheeler on I-24, in Marion County, Tn.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a preliminary report that Clayton, who was working a AAA call, had just gotten into the vehicle after loading his tow truck and was beginning to pull out when he was hit by the semi-truck.
Company office manager Christine Adair said, “He was a gentle soul. In the 15 years that he worked at Monteagle, he never raised his voice at anyone.”
Criminal charges are pending against the driver of the truck who admitted that he was negligent in the accident.
Source: wdef.com
Chicago Proposes Two Ordinances
As a result of countless stories about the shady practices of Chicago towers and a hearing in early September, city Alderman Gilbert Villegas has acted to create two towing ordinances.
At a hearing in early September, concerns about tower practices were brought up, including arriving on crash scenes before police and fire personnel, red light running and overcharging for storage fees, in some cases requiring large amounts of cash.
One ordinance will give the city the ability to revoke a license for misbehavior. Villegas suggests that this will give tow companies less time to change their name, go out of business and then open up a business within days, which often happens under the current system.
The second proposal by Villegas is a rotation ordinance for police tows and wrecks – a rotating system of which tow operator gets sent where and when.
Source: chicago.cbslocal.com
For Two Montana Towers
To show solidarity over the deaths of two fallen towers, tow companies and first responders came out on Friday, October 30 in Helena, Mt., to “light up the night.”
The Montana Tow Truck Association organized memorial events for Casie Allen and Nick Visser in eight cities across the state. In Helena, 11 tow companies brought their trucks to the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, joined by firefighters, law enforcement and transportation workers from around the area.
The two towers were working together on October 25, amidst icy conditions, when a pick-up truck struck them as they were trying to get a disabled vehicle out of a ditch.
Jim Dusenberry, a member of the Montana Tow Truck Association board, said the goal of these memorials is to Some tow companies in Baltimore said that they felt blindsided by recent proposals by the city to reform the industry through the passage of an upcoming bill. These changes may include 11 new amendments.
Charles Parrish, who manages
Vision Wrecker Service, said he and others in the towing industry were never informed about the proposals until minutes before a city council committee was slated to vote on the measures. Other tow companies in the city of
Baltimore expressing concern include
Auto Barn, Frankford’s, Universal,
Nell’s, Ted’s, Pollard’s and Mc-n-Mc
Towing.
Norman McCarthy of Mc-n-Mc said,
“You are going to chase the good people out of the industry and you are going to be stuck with a bunch of thieves.”
City councilman Ryan Dorsey, who drafted the legislation, defended the
Light Up the Night. drive home the importance of “slowing down and moving over,” to be safe around service vehicles and emergency responders on the highway.
Outcry over Baltimore Towing Reforms
Source: kxlh.com
Charles Parish, Vision Wrecker Service. proposals, writing “This bill requires a study of new dispatch methods that I believe could open the door for smaller businesses to become prime contractors to the city.”
Parrish stated, “While we don’t have a problem with more tow companies , we do have a problem with how they plan to execute the dispatching through an Uber style dispatcher.”
Source: foxbaltimore.com
