American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
Latest Towing News Around the World
Roadside dangers take center stage in this sobering exploration of the hazards facing tow truck operators worldwide. The deadly toll becomes immediately apparent as we uncover the shocking pattern of violence in Durban, South Africa, where three drivers have been killed in suspected drive-by shootings this year alone, highlighting an alarming trend that authorities have yet to address effectively.
The regulatory landscape for towing services is evolving rapidly across multiple continents. Ghana's mandatory towing subscription program represents an innovative approach to clearing highways of abandoned vehicles while avoiding monopolistic concerns that plagued previous attempts. Meanwhile, Australia has expanded its protective slow-down laws to shield tow truck operators and roadside workers, imposing substantial fines on drivers who fail to reduce speed when passing these vulnerable professionals.
American towing companies face both tragedy and controversy. We examine the heartbreaking case of Rico Funches, who lost his life when his tow truck plunged into a pond following a multi-vehicle collision in Mississippi. In Kansas City, a different battle unfolds as authorities crack down on predatory towing practices, seizing vehicles and bringing charges against operators accused of illegal activities. The towing industry's pushback against what they consider excessive regulation reveals the complex balance between consumer protection and reasonable oversight.
Perhaps most poignant is the survival story of Florida tow truck driver John Umara, who suffered severe injuries when struck while working roadside. His impassioned plea for drivers to "move over, slow down" serves as both a reminder of the risks these essential workers face daily and a call to action for all motorists. Whether you're a towing professional, a concerned citizen, or a policy maker, this comprehensive examination of the industry's challenges demands your attention and underscores the urgent need for enhanced safety measures worldwide.
Share your thoughts on how we can better protect these roadside heroes. Have you witnessed dangerous situations involving tow truck operators? Let us know in the comments or leave a review sharing your experiences.
I'm Wesley Wilburn and this is Towing News. Now We'll start today with world news. First we'll start out in Durban, south Africa, where, for the third time this year, a tow truck driver was killed in a suspected drive-by shooting. In the fourth shooting incident targeting tow truck drivers this year, the man was shot and killed on the N2 near the Old Durban Airport site on Friday night. Emerging paramedic spokesperson Kyle Van Reneen said paramedics, together with other agencies and law enforcement, responded to the shooting. Van Reneen said paramedics assisted the man and he was declared deceased. The Mercury, a local newspaper, reported in March that a tow truck driver was shot dead while seated in the vehicle on the M7 near the N2 bridge. This comes after a tow truck driver was killed in a drive-by shooting in February while he was seated in his tow truck in the same area. Meanwhile, in another shooting incident in February, a tow truck driver was seriously injured in an alleged drive-by shooting on the M7 near the N2 bridge.
Speaker 1:Our next story takes us to Ghana in West Africa, where the National Roads and Highway Authority roll out a mandatory towing subscription for all vehicle owners. This announcement comes in response to a growing public concern over the increasing number of broken down vehicles left unattended on major highways, especially during rush hours, causing severe traffic congesting and posing safety risks. Speaking on the City Breakfast Show on Wednesday, the Managing Director, abraham Ambalieva, explained that the proposed measure would be included in a new legislative instrument which also covers the legislation of commercial motor spike operations. This is a variant of the towing law that was introduced but later suspended. The new development will ensure that vehicle owners must subscribe to a towing company or insurance. The earlier one that was introduced had a monopoly concern in the collection of the towing fee, but the new thinking, which will be in the Okada legislation, will see that when the law is passed, every owner must subscribe to the towing company or insurance company so that when your vehicle breaks down, you just call your subscriber to come to your aid. Amaliba further stated that failure to comply will result in penalty. They will require that when you fail to do that, the NRSA will come in and tow the vehicle, but you will be surcharged for that. When that is passed, it will reduce the incidence of vehicle breaking down on the roads because as it stands, it appears that there is no regulation in that regard, he stated.
Speaker 1:This next story takes us to Victoria, australia, where they recently passed slow down laws. Drivers will now need to slow down when passing tow trucks, roadside mechanics and emergency traffic manager workers. The 40 kilometers per hour or 25 miles per hour slow down rules previously only applied when emergency services and VicRoads incident response vehicles were stopped on the side of the road, but the extended rules were announced by the state government on Wednesday. The rule applies when motorists see any vehicles with flashing red, blue, magenta or yellow lights stopped on the side of the road. Workers from accident towing companies break down. Towing roadside assistance, peninsula Link incident response, east Link incident response and Transurban incident response will be covered by the change. Incident response and trans-urban incident response will be covered by the change. Drivers can be fined up to $961 Australian dollars for breaking the rule. The expanded rules will take effect July 1st. Now here's stories from the states no-transcript.
Speaker 2:The victim of the deadly crash on Florence Byram Road has been identified as Rico Funches, the Rankin County Sheriff's Department responding to a three-vehicle crash in the area of Florence Byram Road near Finco Farms Road around 7 37 Saturday. Investigators say when they arrived a tow truck was in a nearby pond. Funches, who was the driver of the tow truck, was rescued by bystanders. Paramedics tried to revive him, but he was later pronounced dead. Funches was carrying another car on the tow truck when the accident happened. The drivers of the other two vehicles survived with little to no injuries. Lieutenant TJ Piku tells us the process of getting the tow truck out of the water.
Speaker 3:It's a lengthy process, especially the weight of the truck. Approximate weight of the tow truck itself, with no weight on it, it's about 18,500 pounds. It did have a vehicle on the rollback.
Speaker 2:Brian Grantham, the Rankin County Emergency Operations Director, says his team, the Rescue Dive Recovery Specialist, was called to assist the recovery taking hours.
Speaker 4:The power lines are directly above the car wreck, so the tow truck and the booms are not able to fully extend like they need to, and also with the majority of the tow truck being underwater, submerged in the mud, it does make it a little more complex.
Speaker 2:The crash is still under investigation. I'm live in Rankin County, kennedy Cooper 16.
Speaker 1:We'll keep you updated on this story. Now an update on the Kansas City Metro towing news. Detectives now have towed away several tow trucks that are believed to be used for predatory practices.
Speaker 5:We Kansas City leaders announced steps to combat predatory towing. It comes after a tow company owner and employee were taken into custody on several charges related to alleged illegal towing. Kc5 Chandler Watkins shows us how the Kansas City Police Department is cracking down on predatory tactics.
Speaker 6:It's obviously been a hot topic that we have been receiving information on in the last several weeks.
Speaker 7:Earlier this month, Jackson and Platt County prosecutors announced charges against Metro tow and transport owner, Donald Adamson and his mom and employee, Lynette Adamson, following numerous complaints on the company. Soon after the Kansas City Police Department asked the community to reach out if they had been victims of predatory towing in the city.
Speaker 6:Those investigators have received well over 100 emails by this point in time.
Speaker 7:On Friday a search warrant was conducted on a towing company. The department had received several complaints about KCPD posted them towing away the company's tow trucks, stating the detective's investigation continues and charges are possible.
Speaker 6:We wanted the public to know that we're hearing these issues, we're hearing them on these issues and we're being responsive and these investigations are ongoing.
Speaker 7:It comes as Kansas City leaders are looking to crack down on illegal towing as well, introducing new legislation at City Council earlier this week that would increase penalties for illegal behavior and create additional responsibilities for tow operators.
Speaker 8:It is our view that this has been an area that has been unregulated for too long. That's why you are seeing this work being done.
Speaker 7:Next Monday, Jackson County legislators are also expected to discuss possible regulations and penalties for predato. One of the proposals is I or fines on towing compan.
Speaker 1:We'll keep you updated on the case. And the next story is from Missouri tow owners, who organized in response to the proposals coming from the Missouri area. This video includes an interview from Jared Ennis, the president of the Missouri Towing Association.
Speaker 9:Towing has been making headlines and sparking a push to change the law.
Speaker 7:This comes after a mother and son duo at Metro Tow were charged with nearly 20 felony counts for how they handled non-consensual towing and impounding.
Speaker 9:Both Kansas City and Jackson County are working on ordinances with tougher penalties, and now the towing industry is organizing to push back. Kctv 5's Betsy Webster is in Independence, where dozens of tow companies met to figure out how to handle what they say is going a step too far.
Speaker 10:I asked all the folks in this room to raise their hands, one per company. Can you guys do it again? One per company, one per company. Raise your hand. Yeah, I asked these guys to raise their hands, one per company. There were at least 24, I counted. These are folks who help out the police. These are folks who tow people who are stranded on the side of the road. Legit businesses worried that they're going to be punished because of a few shady operators. They pulled their trucks into Saints Pub and Patio. With experience in several area counties.
Speaker 8:I've got my own companies in Clay County, Platt County, Buchanan County and the fees are all very similar between the three and they're one-tenth of what Jackson County is proposing Truth.
Speaker 10:This is an application for a Platt County tow license $75 per business and $25 per vehicle. The Jackson County ordinance introduced reads $1,000 per business and $250 per vehicle. The crew that crowded into the restaurant Monday is also concerned about the proposed penalties a minimum suspension of 45 to 90 days for a single violation of the rules.
Speaker 8:If you have 50 trucks and one guy goes out and doesn't do it right, whether intentional or not, there's some serious consequences that I think are a little bit too severe.
Speaker 10:Licensing makes sense. He said Penalties too, but he worries about the rush to react.
Speaker 8:Let's identify the problems and what solutions they want to have and get a good ordinance.
Speaker 10:The president of the Missouri Tow Truck Association said the Jackson County ordinance is the one that gives him the most concern the Kansas City ordinance. He says that he suggested a few tweaks but overall seems pretty reasonable in Independence Missouri.
Speaker 7:The tow truck driver is recovering after he was slammed into while working on the side of I-95 in Brevard County. Thanks for joining us tonight. I'm Luann Sorrell.
Speaker 11:And I'm John Brown. We first told you about this deadly crash last month. Three people in the car died, but the tow truck driver survived. Fox 35's Esther Bowers live near the crash scene, so Esther, the survivor, wants to spread awareness to other drivers.
Speaker 12:John you Mara says people need to be very aware how split second decisions they make can change someone's life forever. He was on an off ramp, like the one you see behind me, getting ready to tow a truck when he heard tires screeching and then ended up pinned under the rack. This white car crushed after a high-speed chase, killed three people inside and severely injured John Umara.
Speaker 8:All I kept repeating to myself was oh, no, god, please, no.
Speaker 12:John was pinned under the wreck and immediately airlifted to a hospital, but thankfully he survived.
Speaker 8:I mean it's truly a blessing. I definitely had somebody watching over me.
Speaker 12:His road to recovery won't be easy. He has several fractures in his skull, constant neck and back pain and his eyeglass prescription is different today because of the impact of the crash. Eyeglass prescription is different today because of the impact of the crash. Witnesses who took this video of the car fleeing troopers before the crash say they were allegedly driving 100 miles per hour on the highway One of the worst moments I had in my life. John's wife, jennifer, hasn't left her husband's side. He'll be out of work for months, so the family is thankful for friends and community support.
Speaker 7:I feel like he's blessed. I feel like he's lucky, blessed. This is the best case scenario out of this. You know, worst case scenario.
Speaker 12:As for the driver, vernon Hodges is behind bars, facing 17 counts, including felony murder, vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
Speaker 7:We've been working with the state attorney closely to ensure that justice for all of the victims is done swiftly and correctly.
Speaker 12:John plans to return to the job he loves when he's better and hopes others will be aware and steer clear when you see people on the side of the road.
Speaker 3:Move over slow down.
Speaker 12:And officials tell us Hodges was a habitual traffic offender with several DUIs. At the time of this specific incident. We're told he had a blood alcohol content of .147 above the legal limit. The suspect's next court date is set for May. Reporting live in Brevard County Esther Bauer, fox 35 News.
Speaker 11:There you go, folks, the most recent news on the brand new Towing News channel. I'll see you next week with more information on the latest news in our industry.