American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
What Every Towing Professional Needs to Know This Week
Every day, towing professionals face evolving challenges that demand awareness, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to safety. This episode of the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast delivers crucial industry updates that impact everyone from owner-operators to fleet managers.
Breaking news from Kenworth reveals the planned discontinuation of their iconic 1.9-meter cab Class 8 trucks—including the legendary W900, T800W, and C500 models—by 2026. This significant shift, driven by changing emissions regulations and component constraints, signals a transformation in the heavy-duty sector that towing professionals must prepare for.
The human cost of roadside dangers takes center stage with the heartbreaking story of Wyoming tow operator Zach Krohn, hospitalized after being struck by a pickup truck while working on Interstate 80. His wife's plea echoes what industry safety advocates have emphasized for years: "Please, if you see operators or stalled vehicles, slow down and move over." This incident, alongside troubling legal cases involving a Virginia tow driver's arrest and a deadly police shooting during a contested repossession in Alabama, underscores the complex risks towing professionals navigate daily.
Perhaps most disturbing is the San Diego case where Monica Camaronade Adams was found deceased in her impounded van at a tow yard—over a month after a DUI collision. This tragedy has sparked a $50 million claim against the city and raises profound questions about inspection protocols during towing operations. We also expose predatory practices involving unsolicited towing services that target accident victims with unauthorized fees.
The American Towing Recovery Institute remains committed to advancing professionalism through training, certification, and innovative solutions like the EV Clever app for handling electric vehicles in emergencies. Download it today from the Apple or Google Play store and join us in elevating industry standards. Have questions or need resources? Connect with us through www.amtowri.org and subscribe for weekly updates on the stories shaping our industry.
Welcome one and all to the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast. I want to remind all of you that the American Towing Recovery Institute aims to promote professionalism, safety and education within the towing and recovery industry. Remember, we provide training and certification programs for towing operators. We also advocate for industry standards and best practices, support research and develop all new techniques, including research and development of electric and alternative fuel vehicles With extensive research, with the EV Clever app, available now on Apple and Google Play stores, Foster cooperation among industry stakeholders. Please, if you need to contact us, we're always at wwwamtowri G. Now. Here is towing news. Now you are just 60 seconds away from the latest news in the towing industry.
Speaker 2:Stay tuned.
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, tow 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 4:We also offer the National Tow Operator Certification, an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric and alternative fuel vehicle. Here's a press release from Kenworth. Kenworth will end production of its 1.9 meter cab class 8 trucks, which include Kenworth's W900, t800w and the C500, in 2026. The decision is due to evolving emissions regulation and component constraints as the industry moves forward with new, more efficient and better integrated technologies and products. A final call for truck orders will be announced later in 2025. To ensure a smooth transition, kenworth is providing comprehensive support and guidance to dealers and customers as part of the phase-out process for its legacy trucks. Kenworth is advising dealers and customers to place final orders as soon as possible. For the latest regarding timelines during this transition, contact your local Kenworth dealer.
Speaker 4:In Stratford County, virginia, a Manassas tow truck driver was arrested late Monday night after colliding with a parked car in a wall among I-95. The Stratford County Sheriff's Office reported around 11.15 pm. A deputy responded to Dolphin Cove. Authorities said 41-year-old Jason Rock, a tow truck driver, had struck an unoccupied vehicle before colliding with a wall separating the neighborhood from I-95. Rock said his truck's headlights had malfunctioned while he was completing a job, causing him to not see the car and wall in front of him. Luckily, no one was hurt in the collision. He told deputies his license was suspended and while inspecting his truck, authorities found a red fanny pack with a gun and a glass pipe inside.
Speaker 4:During their search of the tow truck, the sheriff's office said deputies found suspected controlled substances. Cruz towed his tow truck and Grock was taken to the Rappahannock Regional Jail. Was taken to the Rappahannock Regional Jail. The sheriff's office said he was charged with possession of controlled substance, reckless driving and other related charges. He was held on a $3,000 secured bond. We'll keep you updated on this case. Here's a story out of Decarter, alabama, about an incident that's now in trial involving a repo tow truck driver and the man who pointed a gun at a repo tow truck operator while in work and he lost his life when the police came.
Speaker 5:Today marked the beginning of a high-stakes hearing in the murder case of former Decatur police officer Mack Marquette. His attorneys are trying to convince a judge that Marquette killed Stephen Perkins in self-defense and that he should not be prosecuted for murder.
Speaker 6:Perkins, killed in his driveway during a botched repossession of his truck. The on-duty shooting by Marquette rocked the Decatur community, spurring 18 months of protest and calls for police reform.
Speaker 5:News 19 investigative reporter, dallas Parker, has been in the courtroom all day, as multiple witnesses, including the tow truck driver from that night, have testified. So, dallas, what have you learned?
Speaker 7:Well, like you said, we've heard from a number of witnesses today, including two of the officers who responded alongside Marquette the night Perkins was shot and killed, and the repo man who called the police to the scene, initially claiming Perkins had pointed a gun at him on his first repossession attempt. Now Caleb Combs, who was working for Allstate Recovery at the time, was the defense's first witness. He testified that when he attempted to repossess Perkins' truck the first time, perkins came outside and aimed a gun at his chest and yelled for him to drop his truck. Combs eventually called a non-emergency number and an officer showed up. After being asked if he wanted to file a warrant against Perkins, combs said he would rather go back and get the truck if the police were there too. Now police told the driver to give them five minutes to get in place. Essentially, combs said he then returned to the house to latch the truck. Perkins came out of his front door, shined a light into his cab and yelled at him once again, and then Combs said he heard police shout commands and multiple gunshots.
Speaker 7:Right after Now the hearing, of course, is ongoing. Right now it's completely full inside of the courtroom standing room only in the back of the room. Of course you can tune in to News 19 at 5 for the latest from those officers who did testify in court today. But for now reporting live at the Morgan County Courthouse. I'm Dallas Parker, news 19.
Speaker 4:We'll keep you updated on this case. Here's a sad story out of San Diego about a family claiming a missing woman left to die in an impounded van after a DUI crash.
Speaker 8:The last place you'd think to look for a missing person was inside of a car.
Speaker 9:This tow yard lot in Grantville is where they found the body of 65-year-old Monica Camaroni de Adams in December of 2023, more than a month after a drunk driver plowed into her parked van on the side of the road.
Speaker 8:in Claremont, a worker at the tow yard reported a pungent smell coming from the car, and that turned out to be Monica.
Speaker 9:Attorney John Carpenter is now representing the victim's family, filing a $50 million claim against the city of San Diego for failing to find the woman inside the van at the scene of the collision before towing the vehicle away.
Speaker 8:The death was approximately caused by leaving her alone struggling with her injuries inside of her car entombing her in her car, taking her car to the tow yard and leaving her there to die.
Speaker 9:The drunk driver, Jordan Lopez, was arrested at the scene with a blood alcohol level of .26, more than three times the legal limit. Court records show he initially was charged with vehicular manslaughter but later pleaded guilty in a plea deal to DUI, causing great bodily injury. An autopsy showed the victim died from blunt force trauma injuries. She was homeless and had been sleeping in her parked van at the time of the collision.
Speaker 8:Just because someone was homeless doesn't mean that they don't have a family that loves them. Things are difficult, um, it's easy to overlook people that are homeless, but they do have loving families and they do matter, and this story exemplifies that.
Speaker 9:The city of San Diego did not respond to our request for comment and also has not responded to the family's claim, meaning a lawsuit likely will be filed in the near future. That DUI driver is set to be sentenced in court next week under the terms of a plea deal. He faces a maximum of six years in prison In Grantville. David Goffertson, cbs 8.
Speaker 4:Our hearts go out to that family and we'll keep you updated on this case.
Speaker 2:A Rock Springs tow truck operator, now hospitalized in Casper, is just starting a week's long recovery after being hit by a pickup truck Wednesday on Interstate 80. Zach Krohn is at Banner Wyoming Medical Center waiting on future surgeries and next steps as he recovers. That's what his wife Elizabeth told Cowboy State Daily's Claire McFarland in a Thursday phone interview.
Speaker 10:He's had a kidney removed, so there's some gut problems, along with other fractures, shatters, gashes that they're going to be dealing with for a while. But his wife Elizabeth agreed Thursday to update the public and she also said please, if you see operators or stalled vehicles or anything like that, slow down and move over.
Speaker 2:On Wednesday morning outside Wamsutter, Zach had been offloading lumber from a commercial truck trailer onto a nearby flatbed trailer. After a wreck that had happened the night before, Zach pivoted from the lumber trailer to start walking toward his truck so he could retrieve more straps when a red Ford pickup hurtled down a slope, lost control and smashed him between the truck and trailer.
Speaker 11:When you get in an accident, navigating how to handle repairs, that can be tricky and frustrating. But tonight the story of yet another driver who got a call out of nowhere from a tow and repair company on Airport Highway. The woman says, even after she talked to her insurance company, this third-party company insisted on helping, but she says they've been anything but helpful. I-team reporter, sean Hegarty. Back on this story tonight for us, sean.
Speaker 6:Amor Williams' 2021 Nissan Murano sustained this damage in early February as she approached Door Street at Upton in Toledo. Williams then called her insurance company. With it being close to a weekend, it took him a bit to get back with her, but her first return call was not the insurance company, it was M-Works Auto Body on Airport Highway. They even mentioned her insurance company.
Speaker 7:They sent me a form to sign for a towing agreement and apparently that towing agreement came with repair permission for repair, but my insurance never gave them permission to do anything.
Speaker 6:The car ended up at M-Work. That's when she got this invoice that was drawn up for over $6,000 for work storage fees, tow fees all from a place that was not working with her insurance company and came out of nowhere. Williams says even in all of the runaround that increased the days for those storage fees. This company has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Speaker 12:Yeah, they swoop in and, you know not, pretend they offer the services, but the services are not usually very good.
Speaker 6:Lane Montz with the Better Business Bureau says if you did not request the specific work from that specific place, then don't accept it and be careful what you sign.
Speaker 12:I think it's a pretty safe assumption that they have, you know, done their due diligence to track you down, to target you, and they may or may not be a legitimate business, but there's really no reason to accept an unsolicited offer for service.
Speaker 6:Williams did everything right by starting with her insurance company. It just appears M-Work stepped in. Thankfully her insurance company stepped up to pay the fees, but she does not want others to have the same headaches that she did.
Speaker 7:I just want people to know who this company is.
Speaker 6:This is now the fourth instance that we are aware of where M-Work makes the unsolicited call and then gets involved doing work without the permission of the insurance company gets involved doing work without the permission of the insurance company.
Speaker 1:There you go, folks, the most recent news on the brand new Towing News channel. I'll see you next week with the latest news in our industry. Thank you,