American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
Ensuring Safety in the Towing Industry
How do tow trucks keep the Super Bowl running smoothly, while preventing chaos in the streets? Join us as we explore the unsung heroes of the towing industry who step up during major events like the Super Bowl in New Orleans, ensuring public safety and order by swiftly addressing accidents and obstructions. We also tackle the complex issues of public relations and preparedness for increased traffic, parking dilemmas, and even the unexpected plane crashes that have coincided with the states participating in this iconic event.
Switching gears, we tackle the harrowing impact of fentanyl on young lives, spotlighting a heartbreaking case involving West Point cadets. We probe into the critical need for countermeasures against this deadly crisis and discuss the geopolitical landscape, offering insights into President Trump's initiatives and the potential changes they could bring. Our conversation delves into innovative solutions for global conflicts, underscoring the progress made and the pride of American achievements.
Our final segment offers an exciting preview of upcoming events for towing enthusiasts, from Alabama to New York, with highlights like the Florida Tow Show and our collaboration with DJ Harrington on veteran support initiatives. We unravel a gripping story of grand theft in Miami involving a high-value Ferrari and explore the essential topics of security, towing safety, and legal challenges. We emphasize the critical role of training and preparedness for tow truck operators, especially under adverse conditions, and the importance of thorough documentation to safeguard against legal issues.
Today on Towing News. Now all eyes are on New Orleans for the Super Bowl. The towing industry also stands by ready to serve, just like they did in New Orleans on January 1st with that incident, with the truck terrorist situation. We also have news from across the United States a big, special announcement involving this organization and yours truly. We also took a look at the tariffs and how that's going to affect out of Canada NRC towing equipment.
Speaker 3:Hold on a second Wes. There's a new report out that Trump has canceled the tariffs, at least for 30 days, so we're good to go on that for right now.
Speaker 1:All right, well, we'll have some opinion and comments. We'll cancel that story, though. Stand by, We've got a great episode for you today.
Speaker 4:You're on the train to success with April and Wes Wilburn. I'm DJ Harrington, the co-host, better known as the Toe Doctor. We're all on our way to the town of proper towing and recovery along with our producer, chuck Camp, in the studio. Don't go to the town of woulda, coulda, shoulda. You coulda had done this. You should have done that. Listen every week to thought-provoking wisdom from great guests. So if you have Spotify, iTunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia or the number one podcast, or maybe Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts, turn in on Wednesday and be turned on all week long. If you are a state association and want your announcements or upcoming state association news or maybe a co-show that's coming up, let us know. Our podcast studio phone number is 706-409-5603. I'm proud to be part of a great team at the American Toe and Recovery Institute. Let's make 2025 our best year ever. I will turn it to April and Wes.
Speaker 1:Well, welcome everybody. April DJ, how are y'all doing today?
Speaker 3:I am doing great dj I am doing excellent.
Speaker 4:April and less uh.
Speaker 1:The toe doctor in atlanta, georgia, is doing fantastic hopefully that weather has gotten a little warmer for you in atlanta. It certainly has. Here in the carolinas we're experienced. We've experienced a real nice day yesterday and a nice day today as well, weather-wise.
Speaker 1:Weather-wise here, it's gorgeous Booty sunny day, light jacket day today, yep, yep, and I'm guessing they have good weather. Down in New Orleans they're geared up for the Super Bowl. Of course, the towing industry is going to serve that city many ways during the festivities. Several different great towing companies down there keep traffic moving and I'm sure it was one of them that cleaned up the events that happened in January. April makes a great comment about that. Different things. We see like that in the news.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when I was watching that, one of the things that struck me and this is my perspective now, because I'm in this industry is, when something happens, it doesn't just sit there, it gets moved out of the way. And how does it get moved out of the way? It gets moved out of the way because it gets picked up by a tow truck and later, that same day in Las Vegas, there was another horrible incident that happened and I've got to think the same thing. The only way that gets moved is if somebody moves it, and who moves it? It's one of us.
Speaker 1:You know, there's a tow truck in New Jersey that's been very involved with the association up there for years. His name is John Glass and in several different conversations I've had with him he talked about the same. He thought a great public relations tool for the industry would be for someone to write articles about how the towing industry participates in different things. He gave the example of a sinkhole in New York City that had happened and at the end of the day that was cleaned up by tow trucks. In that scenario the tow trucks were owned by the city, but it was still tow trucks that cleaned it up.
Speaker 1:And at that point I was writing for a different train magazine, so he was suggesting it to me and he even had a title for the series and everything. He called it A Tower Was there. We thought about recent news events and there was all kinds of situations, just like now, that a tow was there and cleaned it up. Hopefully there's no situations like that in New Orleans major situations, but let's face it, with increased traffic there'll be broke down cars, unfortunately, there'll be accidents, parking violations, et cetera. So there will be a lot of telling will happen with that event.
Speaker 3:That is what's going to happen with a lot of traffic and a lot of cars, even with just parking situations, because I think there's going to be some really bad parking situations. Where do you park? Sometimes that's confusing. Sometimes people just park where they shouldn't park and they know they shouldn't. But yeah, that's going to be, I'm sure, a high volume.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. It'll be a huge event. The Super Bowl is a huge event, no matter where it goes, and especially when it goes to New Orleans. You and I both know that place is a lot of fun, isn't?
Speaker 3:it. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:So hopefully it'll be just a great American celebration.
Speaker 3:But you know something that I have kind of thought about, just watching the events that have happened with New Orleans on the first day of January and then two horrific plane crashes. One was in the Washington DC area but that plane came from Kansas, and then the other one was like a jetliner in Philadelphia. The two states that are going to that Super Bowl are Philadelphia and Kansas, so I mean Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, but still Wow, coincidence?
Speaker 1:I don't believe it has anything to do with it.
Speaker 3:Very, very wild. It's just something to think about, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dj, if you have a comment, go ahead, If not, I'm moving on.
Speaker 4:My comment is that there was two different towers in January during the National College football game that was being played down there. Two different towers. The accident where the pickup truck ran down civilians in the street that was towed off by a different towing company than the vehicle, the Tesla that was with fireworks on the inside parked in front of the Trump Hotel. That was a separate. Both two separate towing companies removed them Up in Philadelphia, april, if you saw, there was six people in the emergency ambulance Learjet that was taking the young girl that just had treatment done at Shepherds in Philadelphia it was heading back to Mexico with her mom and four people All six were killed but a towing company took care of all the pieces that were on the street. So that's who's involved in it and we have towing people and down the road we really should have somebody like I'll give you a name Bill Georges from Mike's Record. He does airplanes, he does deep-sea divers and a lot of these people that were involved in DC April came from the towing industry.
Speaker 3:I can believe that yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they specialized in that kind of towing. So down the road, you know, a good guest for the towing news channel would be a Bill Georges, and you'll see him down in Florida at the Florida Tow Show.
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny that you mentioned the Florida Tow Show, dj. It takes us right to our next subject. The big announcement that I alluded to in our opening is we've uh, american towing and recovery institute is united with professional wrecker operators of florida at their trade show in orlando. Um, we're going to do a one day heavy training, towing and recovery, focusing on electric and alternative vehicles. It'll basically be a day out of what we do in our courses around the country and again, we're going to try to focus. They're going to try to provide us with, and we're going to try to focus on some electric vehicles, and that will be part of the Florida Toe Show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the electric vehicles is a big interest right now, even with the big trucks. So the Florida Toe Show is April 10th to the 12th. We're going to be doing our one-day heavy-duty electric vehicle class on April 10th from 9 am to 4 pm in Orlando, Florida class on April the 10th from 9 am to 4 pm in Orlando, Florida.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's going to be a one-day class, mostly classroom, a little bit of outside demonstration. We're thankful Purpose Records stepped up. They're going to sponsor a continental breakfast. The class will be free. The breakfast will be free. The breakfast will be free. Go to Florida Toe Show's website to register. You have to pre-register to attend the class.
Speaker 3:And I think we're going to see our good friend DJ Harrington, the toe doctor, there too.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, I'll be there and I want to remind all our listeners make sure you register, because you know Wes, when you think how many thousands and thousands of toers that come in that day, you know they all show up the night before the ninth and the morning of the 10th at nine o'clock. They got to be there in class from 9 to 4. Make sure they attend. How many can you have in the class?
Speaker 1:Right now we're planning on attendance up to 100 people, so that's what we're going to pre-register.
Speaker 4:The first 100 that sign up. They're going to be the lucky people to get this.
Speaker 1:That's right, that's right, so we're looking forward to it. It's a great show world's largest toe show.
Speaker 4:It sure is.
Speaker 1:We're going to be there, excited about the program. So we got Mike promised from the Toe Show to come on for a future podcast interview to tell us what's going on there. There's still room with the host hotel, as I understand it, but it's filling up pretty quick. So if you plan on attending and staying at the host hotel makes it so much easier in my opinion. So you need to get your rooms reserved.
Speaker 3:There's the host hotel and then they have another sister hotel. So if that one is full and it probably will fill up fast Everybody's going to get out of the winter and think about Florida. Then I'll warm a toasty and probably start getting reservations made.
Speaker 1:Both of them are Hilton properties, basically on Disney property or right outside of Disney, I guess, technically aren't they?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and they can go to the PWF website and it will pull right up to those hotels.
Speaker 1:And they can go to the PWOF website and it will pull right up to those hotels Right. Floridatoeshowcom, I believe, or PWOForg. Professionalrecordoperatorsoffloridaorg for more information. So, that's our big announcement. We're super excited about that, super excited about our first school coming up in a couple days. Actually, by the time this thing airs, it will probably run. We're here in Fayetteville, it's a one-day light duty and we have 43 attendees, so we're real excited.
Speaker 3:That's starting our training off to a good start this year. Yeah, that class is, I guess, pretty well full. We're at max and that is a very good way to start off the new year.
Speaker 1:Very thankful to Phillips Telling for hosting the class and helping us put together a great start of the year, as April says. All right, well, we've got a lot more to talk about. Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3:For electric and other alternative fuel vehicles, we have developed an app that gives you all the manufacturers 411 for when that 911 happens. Whether you are a fire tower or police, we got you covered. To find the EV Clever app, go to your Apple or Google Play store for a 30-day free trial.
Speaker 5:We also offer the National Tow Operator Certification an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric and alternative fuel vehicle.
Speaker 4:Welcome back listeners. Of course you know you're listening to the brand new Towing News channel. This is DJ Harrington, the tow doctor, april and Wes Wilburn. We do our best each and every week to bring you towing news, the news you need to know. By all means, we're available on Spotify, itunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia, amazon or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure you're listening to the Towing News channel and the newest program, towing News Now. So, april, I'll kick it over to you. I know you want to talk about tariffs, because they say Trump equals tariffs, trump equals tariffs. And, of course, he was going to do the tariffs in Mexico, and that got postponed for 30 days. He was going to do them in Canada, and that got postponed for 30 days. So what's your thinking?
Speaker 3:Well, my thinking is that you agree, that you're right. Both of these were scheduled to be started Tuesday night and one by one, which is only two of them, but still Mexico. They came to an agreement with Canada they like three o'clock in the afternoon. They came to an agreement with for 30 days deposit, and to me, yeah, tariff is his favorite word. He loves the word tariff, but the reason he's doing it is not just for the money, it's more for trying to keep the fentanyl out of the country.
Speaker 4:Exactly.
Speaker 3:And that's going to save thousands. I don't know how many people died last year when I looked it up it was between 70 and 100,000, depending on what report you listen to, but if it's 10,000 or if it's 10, if you can save those lives, if you can save those lives, then that is the end goal for me.
Speaker 4:April. I know our listeners and Wes will remember the story that last year and when we were doing the podcast for the American Touring Recovery Institute podcast last year, we had the sad episode of talking about the West Point cadets five of them that rented a beach house in Florida. They went into the cabin in this rental and they saw Tylenol. All five of them took two capsules of Tylenol, or what they thought was Tylenol, and all five died.
Speaker 3:My God.
Speaker 4:And that was on one of our podcasts from last year. Yeah, and I because my brothers all went to the Naval Academy and it was a sad story.
Speaker 3:So fentanyl coming into our country is devastating, and I agree it is devastating. And that is a more tragic story because mostly it hits with kids who experiment with drugs and know they should not do that. And I agree. But we were all kids and we did stuff that we shouldn't have done. We didn't have that consequence to suffer from it. Stuff that we shouldn't have done, we didn't have that consequence to suffer from it.
Speaker 4:Keeping it out of the country to begin with is how to stop it, and he uses the tariffs as a threat. Yeah, it works. It works. All the attention of we're going to stop this fentanyl coming into our country. And a tablespoon I want all of you to know that our listeners a teaspoon of fentanyl can kill 90 people. A little teaspoon can kill that many people. It's terrible. And they're putting it in all sorts of stuff and young people today don't realize. They thought it was candy and all of a sudden the young person passes away.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think they put it in the candy to get it through Ever how they have to get it through and then it gets mingled in with. You know, if you have it in your house and a kid sees it, they're going to think it's a sweet tart or something. And you know that's just the end of them when they do that.
Speaker 4:Well, April, I know that you and Wes think the world of President Trump. A lot of our listeners do. He has been a real blessing, but he has promised, and things that he promised before he has proven accomplished.
Speaker 3:He's done a lot in the last few days.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he's done a lot, and when you go there, it's no longer the Gulf of Mexico, it's the Gulf of America.
Speaker 3:And we may have a 51st state. Who knows? We'll see what happens with that. He's trying. He's trying that. He's trying that. Now he's trying for Greenland. I heard him talking about owning Gaza. That would be a game changer in the Middle East. That's for everybody, that's for Israel, that's for the Palestinian people too. That would be a that's for everybody. That's for Israel, that's for the Palestinian people too. That would be a great thing for that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but look how many countries today are talking about that from last night, donald Trump knows how to get the best minds working so that there's going to be better solutions for Gaza than the United States going in there and detecting all of these bombs that are still there.
Speaker 3:Well, it's not doing the same thing again and expecting a different result, and that's what we've done for the past 40 years. We came in and we've done the same thing and the same thing. The same result has happened. And then we do the same thing and the same result has happened. It's we do the same thing and the same result has happened. And then we're surprised and shocked whenever they get attacked, which this is not the first time.
Speaker 4:I'm proud to be an American.
Speaker 3:Yeah, me too, me too.
Speaker 1:He's definitely got a lot done in a short time and is doing what he said he was going to do. So you know, that's a different thing than we're used to with a lot of politicians, so it's good to see progress happening. All right, it looks like it's time for a short break. Hang around and come back. We've got a lot more in store for you.
Speaker 3:For all your rigging needs. Give us a look at towingequipmentdirectcom or email us at info at amtowriorg. Also, you can give us a call at 910-747-9000.
Speaker 4:Information in this podcast is made possible by generous sponsorship from Henry's Wrecker, serving the community with quality towing and recovery for over 40 years. Henryswreckercom, welcome back listeners. You know you're listening to the brand new Towing News channel and Towing News Now is being done by April Wilburn and I want to remind all of you, thank you, thank you, thank you for liking, reviewing and sharing with your podcast friends On the brand new Towing News channel. By all means, just dial 706-409-5603. And Wes, april and I will do our very best to get them on the next Towing News. Now, april, I'll turn it over to you for the schedule of upcoming training.
Speaker 3:Thank you, dj, for that lead in for the schedule of upcoming training. Thank you, dj, for that lead-in. As Wes had just said at the time of this airing, we will have just finished up Fayetteville with a full class. That's a great start to the year. Opelika, alabama, march the 7th to Friday is a free two-hour EV course. Also in Opelika, alabama, on the 8th and 9th, which is Saturday and Sunday, is a two-day heavy-duty rotator and that is with CP Rucker and Griffin Griffin, morganton, north Carolina, friday, march 21st for a two-hour EV free course. Morganton, north Carolina, friday and Saturday, which is the 22nd and 23rd, is a two-day heavy-duty rotator. That's at Liberty Towing On April the 4th, on a Friday, it's a two-hour free EV course, and in Long Island, new York, on the 5th of April is a light-duty course and on the 6th of April is a heavy-duty course, also in Long Island, new York, at All-County Towing.
Speaker 3:And, as we had talked about before, in April we have the Florida Tow Show, which is the 10th to the 12th On April. The 10th. On Thursday we are doing a free one-day EV course and then on the 11th we're doing a Tunnels to Tower event with our friend, dj Harrington. On April the 22nd and 23rd in Massachusetts, we are doing three one-day EV courses, to be date to the city to be determined in May. On May 2nd in St Louis, missouri, we are doing a one-day light duty course. And in St Louis, missouri, on the 3rd and 4th, we are doing a one-day light-duty course. And in St Louis, missouri, on the 3rd and 4th we are doing a two-day heavy-duty with rotator.
Speaker 3:And in the same city of St Louis, in conjunction with JNI Hauling, we're doing a three-day heavy-duty extreme towing class the 5th to the 7th June of 2025, in Lake George, george, is the Estra Tow Show. On June the 6th, we're hosting a live auction at Lake George at the tow show there. Hopefully everybody comes and sees that and attends that. And in Medford, oregon, on June the 20th, we're doing a late duty course on Friday. So that was the schedule for 2025. It looks really good so far. We are still filling in dates and one of the things that I'm looking forward to and we could have we have DJ here so he could go into this a little bit more detail is that Tunnels to Tower event that we're having at the same time as the Florida Toe Show.
Speaker 4:Just to remind our listeners that on April, the 11th, at noontime it's three blocks from the Toe Show at the Hyatt Regency and we'll give everybody the address. It's three blocks down, so you'd have to Uber over or walk or keep parking cars.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:But we will be giving two vehicles away to the veterans' villages, put on by Tunnel to Towers, and they're now helping eradicate homelessness for veterans. So the first floor of the buildings are for PTSD classes, therefore job employment facilities, and then the second, third and fourth floor of the hotels are actually now living residences for the veterans. So in the one in Florida it's going to take 96 veterans off the street, homeless veterans off the street and in their own private residences, and the vehicle is to help transport them to their doctor appointments, to their walmart to get their toiletries once a week or to appointments that they have to have to. So it's all. Our good listeners are involved and by all means I can't thank you enough. So when you see the Tunnel to Tower commercials, know that you're part of it great work you're doing.
Speaker 1:That's great work that you're doing. Dj we really appreciate your efforts and I'm very excited to be a part of it yeah me too.
Speaker 4:I feel like Ron Moore. Once you know, every so often when Ron Moore graces us with his appearance on the podcast, I feel like him. He's proud to be part of your team, wes, and so am I.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks, DJ. All right, Right after the break we've got fresh news for you.
Speaker 2:If you or someone you love has Parkinson's disease, neurochallenge Foundation can help you live a better quality of life. Our care advisors offer one-on-one guidance and connect you to local Parkinson's resources. We offer more than 40 educational support and therapeutic programs every month, plus events like our annual Parkinson's Expo, and it's all free of charge. So contact NeuroChallenge Foundation today and discover a better approach to Parkinson's Expo and it's all free of charge. So contact NeuroChallenge Foundation today and discover a better approach to Parkinson's.
Speaker 4:Welcome back listeners to the number one show, towing News Channel, and the one that people. The episode they all like, the segment they like is called Towing News Now. So let's do they like. It's called Towing News.
Speaker 3:Now. So let's do Towing News Now. So here's a story from Miami Florida. Authorities say a 36 year old, fabian Reduaz, was taken into custody on Wednesday, january the 30th, facing charges including grand theft, dealing with stolen property and towing violations.
Speaker 5:According to the Miami-Dade jail records, the arrest report indicates that the owner had been storing his blue 2022 Ferrari F8 Spyder worth approximately $554,000, in a garage on Brick L Avenue since 2023.
Speaker 3:So the owner of this Ferrari's friend would regularly check on the car to ensure it retained in good condition. He would turn the engine on, check out things on it and when he went there on January the 21st he discovered the Ferrari was missing and later learned that a tow truck had removed it on January the 13th. The owner subsequently hired a private investigator and I guess for $545,000000 car you would hire an investigator. What do you think, wesley?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he identified Rudiaz as the tow truck driver responsible for towing the vehicle.
Speaker 5:Rudiaz allegedly informed the investigator that he towed the Ferrari to an auto repair shop in Cutler Bay for a fee of $350. Now surveillance footage in that repair shop showed the individual posing as the owner authorizing services to replace the car's battery and program a new key. The suspect later drove away the Ferrari and its current location remains unknown. On January 23rd, we heard from the public, investigator reported the vehicle as stolen to Miami police. The detectives interviewed Ruiz and while many details from his statement were redacted in the report, it was noted that he failed to fulfill his responsibility as a tow truck driver.
Speaker 3:One thing that comes to mind for me on that, with the auto repair shop making that key and replacing the battery, I wonder what they used for any evidence that the guy owned it. Did he just take his word? That's just an observance that I have of the circumstance that a reasonable person of his profession would have verified as required by law in order to profit the $350. In court on Thursday, rudiaz's defense attorney claimed that he worked for a tow company and received a text message with instructions on where to pick up and drop off the vehicle.
Speaker 5:The attorney acknowledged that Rudiaz lacked a towing license and has used his brother's tow truck. A prosecutor highlighted the absence of a towing manifest and noted that Rudiaz did not verify the vehicle's owner identity.
Speaker 3:And then the judge ultimately set Rudiaz's bond at $15,300, and as of now, the stolen Ferrari has not been recovered, as authorities continue to investigate the incident. That is quite a story.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And now we have an update on an ongoing story about the turmoil in the towing industry in Canada. This is a published report in a local newspaper. A detective tasked with investigating the GTA tow truck wars which is their term, not my term is embroiled in allegations of misconduct and bias towards certain operators. The National Regional Police Service is facing at least 34 professional misconduct charges and has been named in two civil lawsuits seeking more than $12 million, according to police and court documents obtained by the Star. We will keep you informed as we gain more information on this subject.
Speaker 6:A family is cleaning up after an out-of-control truck smashed through their front yard. Yeah, talk about a close call. A tow truck was hauling a waste management truck when it broke loose. It rolled and then smashed into a pole and then into a tree near 108th and Hilltop between Maple and Fort Streets. The resident showed us the truck also wiped out the Christmas decorations in the front yard.
Speaker 7:The truck had completely crushed our whole nativity scene, which was a beautiful, beautiful scene, one of a kind I painted it myself and everything.
Speaker 6:Oh gosh Now the truck narrowly missed, slamming into the house. The good news no one was hurt.
Speaker 5:Here's a story about a towing company being extra busy during a snowstorm in Washoe, Wisconsin. Good job, Joe Raider Towing.
Speaker 8:Something we haven't seen much of so far this winter a snowy day across central Wisconsin. Thanks for joining us. I'm Adam Rasmussen, but with that, snow brings challenging driving conditions for many. Cooper Wild joins us from Wausau, where tow trucks had a busy Monday.
Speaker 9:I'm here in Wausau, where tow trucks had a busy Monday. I'm here in Wausau, where tow trucks have been working overtime with this latest snowfall and their busy schedule is a great reminder to drive safe. Traveling in snowy conditions is a challenge that locals have to face every year. Today is no different. Tow truck companies are working 24-7 to help people with any vehicle troubles.
Speaker 10:On a typical snow day like today, we can average between 35 and 40 calls. Most of those, obviously, are the police calls, the winch outs, the accidents, those take first priority.
Speaker 7:Number one make sure you've got good tires on your car and slow down, Make a little extra time on your way to work, and it's better than going in the ditch.
Speaker 9:It's important to be prepared in case there are more calls than trucks available. Tow truck drivers are busy much of the day and they say it could take time for help to arrive.
Speaker 5:You know, have a blanket you know something to keep warm in case your car isn't able to run any longer, just anything like that.
Speaker 9:you know safety-wise to help yourself while you're waiting for us, being aware of your surroundings is just as important. They say most accidents happen from people simply not paying attention.
Speaker 10:We really need the people out there to understand, if they do see the flashing lights, to please move over. Give our guys safe space so they can take care of the vehicle in the ditch and get home safe.
Speaker 9:These guys are always going to go the extra mile to help you out, but they and you would rather not see each other at all. So they say make sure you are taking your time when the roads are bad. In Wausau, I'm Cooper Wilde.
Speaker 1:So here's a situation we see, unfortunately, very often in the industry. Sounds to me like the operator did absolutely nothing wrong. Sounds to me like the operator did absolutely nothing wrong and it was a tragic situation. But the owner of the vehicle should have involved herself, trying to move the vehicle on her own, taking the keys. Would that have stopped things? I don't know, it's a good habit to be in, but I don't think it would have prevented or stopped anything. I think no way. It sounds like the operator was negligent. And the lawyers, I'll tell you, they go in after the things that you always see them go after. It doesn't matter if it's a major trucking line or what. Not enough training, not enough, this thing's out of order or this thing's out of order. I like the fact that she completed. What was it? How many Over?
Speaker 1:1,500 hours, like 1,539 hours of or, I'm sorry, toes, toes, yeah 1,539 toes. Successful toes. I thought that was excellent.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and here's the thing is okay, if she could have taken the keys away from her, maybe that would have stopped it, but it wouldn't have stopped her from moving those blocks.
Speaker 1:The keys had nothing to do with the blocks.
Speaker 3:That's right At all, and I don't know what you do in a situation where the customer is insistent of one being near the vehicle. I don't know what you can do in that situation.
Speaker 1:Taking the keys should be a standard. Again, I don't think that caused this incident. Telling the people not to get involved, making sure they clearly hear it sounds like that was stated as well. She said she would handle getting the vehicle moved. The operator stated that Giving good verbal commands is what I. If you're out there doing it yourself or with your people, that's one of the things I would advise them and have a company policy of how that situation is handled and everybody should stick by that company policy. Most organized telling companies that I'm aware of are using cameras nowadays so that visual should be caught, directing where to be, the audio as well, if possible.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good one, and as far as the attorneys and the lawyers you're talking about, you know this. Going down the road and traveling all over the country, what is the most signs you see on the side of the road and it's attorneys suing for this, that and something else. So they're always going to be happy to get involved in something like this.
Speaker 1:Come across I-10 and I-20. In the lower part of the country there's all kinds of attorney billboard ads for truck accidents.
Speaker 3:In the lower part of the country. There's all kinds of attorney billboard ads for truck accidents and attorneys are just like tellers.
Speaker 1:There's plenty of good ones out there, but there's enough bad ones out there to make us have something to talk about, unfortunately and this lawsuit right here is an example that you should take your internal training seriously. Document what you do and participate. Of course, we believe in professional training. You should participate in that. You should document it. You should go back and update your certificates so that they're valid. That's the kind of stuff that's looked at when there's an incident like this. Let's hope and pray that you're not involved, but if you do, this can take a lot of gumption out of you. It's a bad situation.
Speaker 3:It's bad enough that it happened and all whatsoever, but now you're going to get sued for it and that can affect your livelihood. It can affect you financially if you get sued for a sum of money, but it also can affect your towing career too, because this is still going to hang over you.
Speaker 1:We'll keep you updated how this comes out.
Speaker 6:A Washington County man killed in a hit-and-run crash on the Parkway West and tonight, more than a year later, new charges in the case. Channel 11's Nicole Ford joins us with how witnesses held police in the investigation.
Speaker 11:17 months have passed since an overnight hit-and-run killed a beloved tow truck driver right here on the parkway west. Now state police have charged the driver in the death, flashing lights along the road. It's supposed to be assigned to drivers.
Speaker 12:You can't move over, just slow down going through there. If it was red and blue, like the police car, you slowed on.
Speaker 11:But that doesn't always happen, despite it being the law. In August 2023, state police say a driver hit and killed Hassam Shabit while he was doing his job along the Parkway West.
Speaker 12:Yes, I knew Sam when he moved out here from California quite some time ago and helped him get his feet on the ground here in Pittsburgh and help him get his feet on the ground here in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 11:Witnesses to that crash followed the driver, who fled the scene off the Green Tree exit before getting a license plate, number and description of the driver at a BP gas station. Police were able to identify him within an hour.
Speaker 12:It's nice to see that there are good people out there that will find this, and it's a shame it took this long, but hopefully justice will come.
Speaker 11:But it took months for the blood alcohol test and reconstruction to come back before police officially charged Hunter Crown this week with homicide by vehicle and DUI.
Speaker 12:To take somebody's life like that and his family to get that phone call at that time of night just awful.
Speaker 11:Now, just this fall, Shabit's name was added to a wall of fallen tow truck drivers killed on the job. That memorial is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Reporting alongside the Parkway West Nicole Fort. Channel 11 News.
Speaker 5:This is Towing News Now Live from our field. Reporter here's CB Clankert.
Speaker 1:Reporting to you. Live from West Point, Virginia.
Speaker 1:This is an official press release from the West Point Volunteer Fire Department by Valley. Towing has always been a great community partner, but they really go overboard. Each year for the West Point Regional Fire Academy, our recruits are put through a two-day state class on vehicle rescue. It requires 12 cars to tear apart, using various tools and techniques. This type of training cannot be done without these cars and the crew at Bob Alley is always fine enough and they set them up for us. A huge thank you to all of the team. And it also has a great picture of the cars. They're all kind of staged out ready for the training. Hats off to Bob Alley Towing. What a good job. Cb Klinkert reporting live for Towing News Now. Thanks for listening listeners. If you haven't subscribed, please do that. We're up to almost 17,000. I want to thank everybody for listening. Have a safe week out there and we'll talk to you next time. Towing News Now on the towing news channel.