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SWFT Towing company holds memorial for former truck driver killed in crash on Highway 50
COLORADO SPRINGS — Over the weekend, SWFT Towing Company, along with drivers from various other tow companies, rode together in memory of Stacey Trudell.
Trudell was a tow truck driver for SWFT.
In early March, Trudell was off work on his way home, when he stopped to help a stranded driver before being hit and killed by a passing car along Highway 50.
Over the weekend, SWFT Towing Company, along with drivers from various other tow companies, rode together in memory of Stacey Trudell.
"He will truly be missed but what I can say is just be cautious of drivers, of us out there," said Shay Whatley, a dispatcher for SWFT. "Our drivers out there helping get people of the roads that are broke down, just be more cautious and courteous, save a life."
Trudell is remembered by those who knew him as a "True friend," and someone who loved helping anyone. He leaves behind his wife and two kids.
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Three candidates battle for South Bay in Assembly District 80 special election
Canididate Georgette Gómez said the mailers opposing her campaign are financially backed by oil, tow truck and insurance companies who fund one of her opponents, David Alvarez. She said those industries are scared of her because some of the key points from her platform focus on the climate crisis, as well as affordable housing and income inequality.
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Halton police say a “staggering” number of tow trucks had to be taken out of service during their annual “Towbruary” Tow Enforcement Campaign.
Throughout February, the Halton police Traffic Services Unit and District Response Units conducted a number of tow truck inspection blitzes across the region.
A joint blitz was also carried out with Hamilton Police Service on the border of the two jurisdictions.
In total police carried out 103 inspections, which resulted in 56 tow trucks being taken out of service.
Police point out that is a failure rate of 54 per cent.
The campaign also resulted in 155 charges being laid under the Highway Traffic Act.
Officers said the top three reasons for the failed inspections included load security issues, lighting issues, and weight issues.
They noted that to ensure the safety of all road users, drivers and operators of commercial vehicles are required to ensure their vehicles and loads are inspected and safe before they are operated on any road.
Police said they would like to remind motorists that if they are in a collision, they should not give their vehicle to just anyone.
As the registered owner and/or driver of a vehicle involved in a collision, residents:
• have the right to have their vehicle towed by the towing company of their choice; and
• have the right to have their vehicle towed to the location of their choice.
Halton police respond to collisions when the involved vehicle(s) require a tow truck.
Motorists have the option to use a tow truck of their choice or have an officer request a tow from an authorized rotational list.
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Pace woman killed in motorcycle crash in Santa Rosa County
SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. -- A 46-year-old Pace woman was killed in a motorcycle crash in Santa Rosa County Monday morning.
It happened at Tunnel Road and Chumuckla Highway in Pace around 9:15 a.m.
Florida Highway Patrol says it involved a three-wheeled motorcycle and a tow truck.
FHP states the woman crossed the center line on her motorcycle and collided head-on with the truck.
The truck driver was not injured.
Both lanes of Chumuckla Highway were closed, as well as Tunnel Road at the intersection, according to Santa Rosa County EMA. The roadways reopened just after 12:30 p.m.
No further details have been released.
https://weartv.com/news/local/breaking-lanes-closed-after-fatal-accident-in-santa-rosa-county
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Update to Tower Down 03.21.22
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) — A tow truck driver died after he was shot Saturday in a road rage incident on Route 50 in College Park, Maryland State Police said.
Troopers responded around 5:45 p.m. to the shooting on Route 50 eastbound at Veterans Parkway. Investigators believe the truck driver was involved in a verbal argument with another driver while both were driving on Route 50.
Investigators believe during the argument, the driver of the second car pulled out a gun and fired into the tow truck, striking the truck driver. The gunman continued east, police said.
The driver of the tow truck was driven to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The victim was identified as Delonte Hicks, 29, of Washington, D.C.
Investigators believe Hicks and the gunman did not know each other. The suspect, who remains unknown, was believed to have been driving a dark sedan.
No other injuries were reported. Route 50 was closed for several hours after the shooting.
Truck driver hospitalized after suspected road rage altercation in PG County
COLLEGE PARK, MD — A tow truck driver was hospitalized after a suspected road rage incident on U.S. 50, near Veterans Parkway.
Maryland State Police said just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, they were notified of a shooting on U.S. 50, in the eastbound direction.
According to police, a tow truck driver was engaged in a verbal altercation with another driver as each were driving on Route 50.
At some point during the altercation, the second driver pulled out a weapon and fired into the tow truck drivers vehicle before continuing in the eastbound direction.
The driver of the tow truck was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
Police said the identity of the gunman is unknown and they believe the victim and assailant did not know each other.
No other injuries were reported and Route 50 was closed for several hours following the incident.
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Man convicted of Skyline Boulevard ambush killings after case delayed by competency question
Malik Dosouqi was initially sent to a state hospital after being deemed unfit for trial, then was reclassified last year
REDWOOD CITY — Malik Dosouqi has been convicted of the 2019 ambush murders of a cab driver and tow truck driver who authorities say he lured with calls for help, only to fatally stab them, capping a court case that was shelved for years after Dosouqi was initially deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.
Malik Dosouqi has been convicted of murdering two people in what authorities
described as ambush attacks on Skyline Boulevard near Woodside in June 2019.
(San Mateo Co. Sheriff’s Office) San Mateo County Sheriff's Office
On Thursday, Judge Lisa Novak issued her verdict after a seven-day trial, convicting Dosouqi of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Abdulmalek Nagi Nasher, 32, and 31-year-old John Sione Pekipaki on June 17 and 18 in 2019, on a thinly traveled stretch of Skyline Boulevard that runs through Woodside.
Each murder count carried sentencing enhancements for lying in wait, committing multiple murders, using a deadly weapon, and inflicting great-bodily injury that make it likely he will serve a lifetime prison term after his scheduled sentencing on April 15.
The deaths marked what Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher called “some of the most violent scariest murders we’ve had in this county in some time.”
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In wake of tow-truck driver's death, 'education is going to be huge' on move-over law
URBANA — For more than two years, radio and television advertisements for Jim Hampton’s towing business have included a message asking drivers to move over when they see flashing lights.
Last weekend, the message proved sadly ineffective for his work family.
“This is the first tow-truck operator I know killed in the line of duty,” Hampton, owner of Tatman’s Towing in Urbana, said of his part-time employee, Ross Booker, 20.
Mr. Booker was laid to rest Saturday, honored in a moving procession led by his co-workers and joined by dozens of other tow-truck operators, firefighters and police that started in Savoy at 10 a.m. and went northeast about 18 miles to the Stanton Friends Cemetery north of his hometown of St. Joseph.
Approximately 70 vehicles, mostly tow trucks, from as near as Champaign and Tuscola and as far as Newton, Greenup, Decatur, Springfield, Tilton, Danville and Bloomington joined in the tribute.
“We all want to go home to our families,” said Wade Hollenbeck, one of five drivers from Tuscola Pro who braved Saturday’s below-zero wind chill to make a point.
“We came to show our respect and we just want to bring awareness to the slow-down campaign,” said Dion Smith of Bloomington, who came with his wife in a Maurer Wrecker Service vehicle. “It seems like it’s happening more and more.”
About 9 p.m. March 5, Mr. Booker was cleaning up what was left from a two-vehicle accident on Neil Street near Windsor Road when a 16-year-old boy from Tolono who was driving south hit him.
A week later, his grief-stricken boss was recalling Mr. Booker’s smile and their friendly banter as he prepared to lead the parade.
“All these kids are my kids,” Hampton, 53, said of his 15 employees. “We have safety equipment, we wear high-visibility uniforms. I tell my people: ‘Keep watching over your shoulder, protect yourself. Use the trucks to block if you feel like you need more blocking.’ I’d rather replace a truck than a team member.
“We need to do more, get in touch with lawmakers and make sure we do something different,” said the 30-year veteran of the towing business who has owned Tatman’s for 16 years. “When tragedies like this happen, people jump on the bandwagon, but once it fades and people go on about their lives, people start forgetting. We need to keep this campaign going.”
Illinois lawmakers did do something about it 20 years ago. They passed “Scott’s Law,” named for a Chicago Fire Department lieutenant who was hit and killed by a passing motorist while he worked at an accident scene. The legislation calls for drivers to move over and slow down when they see emergency lights flashing.
About five years ago, the law was beefed up to apply to all vehicles with flashing lights, including commercial trucks and cars, not just police cars or ambulances.
Hampton wonders if more can’t be done.
“Part of the problem I’m seeing is it says slow down and move over, but there are no specifics on what that means.
“If they do slow down to 20, is that enough? If somebody is driving down the road and didn’t see (a vehicle with flashing lights) because of the 18-wheeler in front of them, did they have the opportunity to move over?
There’s a lot of what-ifs in this law.”
Not having all the answers, the one thing Hampton knows for certain is that, just like with drunken or distracted driving, people need to be reminded about watching out for first responders.
Repeatedly.
“I believe education is going to be huge. You would think common sense would prevail here but people … are not thinking about this and moving over,” he observed.
Hampton said on the night Mr. Booker was hit, two of his employees were on the call.
“We had the intersection blocked and people were driving past barricades to get where they are going. That tells me they don’t care. It’s very frustrating,” he said.
He’d like to see more emphasis placed on first responder safety with brand new drivers and the written driver’s test administered by the Secretary of State to have a specific question about Scott’s Law.
“If you have 100 percent on everything else and you fail that one, you have to retake the test until you know. Too many people are dying from this,” he said.
Late last month, Illinois State Police said nine of their squad cars had been struck and four troopers injured statewide in the first two months of 2022.
In Champaign County, there have been 29 tickets written for the offense through March 11, all but four of those by Illinois State troopers. Two were written in Champaign and two in Urbana.
While any violations of Scott’s Law could be considered too many, the number of tickets written for that offense over the previous four years in Champaign County represented 1.5 percent or fewer of the total traffic tickets prosecuted.
There were 159 in 2021, 133 in 2020, 278 in 2019, and 54 in 2018, according to records compiled by State’s Attorney Julia Rietz.
The offense is punishable by a fine of $250 to $10,000 for a first offense but if there is injury or death involved, it is a Class 4 felony, punishable by a fine and penalties ranging from probation to one to three years in prison.
To try to get through to folks, Hampton has enlisted the aid of Josh Henson, general manager for Adams Outdoor Advertising in Champaign.
On Saturday, Henson launched a digital billboard public-service announcement in tribute to Mr. Booker that will be featured on billboards on Neil Street in Champaign near St. Mary’s Road and on University Avenue on the side of the Latitude apartment building near Fifth Street.
“What better place than when people are out driving to see it on an ongoing basis,” Henson said. “We are committed to running that as long as we can to avoid this happening again.
“When I’m thinking about public-service announcements, I don’t want to take advertising funds from an organization that would otherwise use them to help those in need,” he said, adding that the move-over message is important enough to keep it in the company’s ongoing rotation of public-service announcements “It feels just like something we should do. It’s two families impacted forever.”
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KILLEEN, Texas — For nearly 30 minutes, a man used cocktails and chemicals desperately trying set Tow Masters Towing and Recovery in Killeen on fire early Wednesday morning.
“He made his cocktail right there. He kept trying to light that door,” said Ricky Britt, owner of Tow Masters Towing & Trucking .
Britt said around 3:30 a.m. he received camera alerts showing someone on his property.
“The ding on my phone I guess I slept right through it," Britt said. "I don’t know what was going on."
Luckily, lead driver James Oltmann drove up to finish his paperwork shortly after the suspect left.
“I could see soot and burns on the bottom of the door and everything like that," Oltmann said. "Call Ricky and said, ‘Hey I think somebody’s tried to set the building on fire.'"
Then Britt and his wife called the police and rushed down.
Oltmann said the inside was filled with smoke. They also found broken glass, chemicals and other materials used to burn down the business.
“As I found the stuff I saw the tow truck and some of my vehicles over there, whatever he tried to use, throwed all down the side there,” said Oltman.
Though smoke was inside, the fire stopped at the door.
“You can tell he didn’t know what he was doing because that’s a steel door you know,” said Britt.
Glad the building is still standing, they now want to find the person who's responsible.
“We don’t know where it’s coming from," Britt said. "That’s what we would love to know. Where is it coming from why."
Britt said the Killeen police and the county fire marshal, who were on scene, are still investigating.
They’re also talking with their neighboring businesses and others around the area to try to figure out what happened that night.
If you know any information, please contact the Killeen Police Department.
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As NASCAR seeks a way for cars to drive back to pit road on flat tires, series officials will have drivers stay in their cars and be towed to pit road this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR used that policy last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. This is not viewed by competitors as a permanent solution because of the laps a driver loses when towed to pit road.
Austin Dillion says something needs to be done.
“It would really suck to end your race trying to miss a wreck and having to spin and having flats,” he said.
Dillon suggested that without changes, it could lead to a safety issue. He noted that drivers might try to go through accidents instead of spinning to avoid them and risk having flat tires, which would cause them to lose laps waiting on a tow truck, being hooked to the truck and then towed to pit road.
The issue with the Next Gen car is that it sits low to the ground. Combined with the larger wheel, there’s no room for an inner liner, which was used previously and allowed cars to drive back to pit road on flat tires. Once the tires are flat, the Next Gen car rests of the bottom of the vehicle and can damage or destroy aerodynamic components there.
Joey Logano, who was stuck on flat tires after spinning in the Daytona 500, offered an idea this week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“We should have a AAA truck that goes out on the racetrack when cars spin out and have flat tires … and they change your tires right there on the racetrack, so you can get to pit road, instead of trying to hook it to a tow truck and dragging everything off the bottom of the car or pushing me,” he said. “Daytona was horrible. It was horrible for me.
“This is how I went crazy. I spun out missing this crash. Tires are flat. I didn’t hit anything. I’m OK. I’m stuck, and then the tow truck comes behind me. He starts pushing me up the racetrack I go, and I get stuck again. Now, the ambulance is behind me and I’m stuck. The ambulance won’t move. No one knows what is going on. I back into the ambulance. Now I’m stuck again.
“Here comes the tow truck again. Tow truck is trying to push me, and now I’m just going to turn through the (infield) grass because I can’t go two-and-a-half miles on these wear blocks (on the bottom of the car). The car is not even moving. I start going through the grass and everything is OK. Here comes Kurt Busch down pit road and the tow truck stops so it doesn’t put me into him, which was great.
“Now the tow truck can’t push the car anymore because he doesn’t have any momentum. He’s spinning his tires behind me. He backs up, and now he starts ramming me. … It just kept getting worse. Now I’m three laps down … because I had a flat tire. So yes, I went bonkers for a little bit.”
NASCAR is continuing to have discussions with teams and suppliers on possible solutions to this issue.
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Road Ramblings by Chris Goodsell
When I was growing up in Sydney my dad owned a number of tow trucks.
We owned a pre-war Ford V8 'jailbar, a three ton and five ton pre-war Dodge.
Later on we had in the fleet a couple of early 60s Dodge three tonners and a 60s International.
The business was called G&G Towing and operated out of the Sydney suburb of Tempe.
In later years dad travelled the State towing for the now defunct Ajax Insurance.
Many tow truck operators in those days chased the accidents and used the speedy Ford F100 V8 as their vehicle of choice.
Tatnells of St Peters (now famous in Speedway over generations) was one such firm.
Maybe that's where they learnt their speedway skills?
The tow trucks of the day had cranes on them.
You would place wooden poles under the car you wanted to tow, attaching them via a chain around the rear axle, before connecting the poles to the truck crane via an 'A' bar, and lifting the vehicle usually by a manual winch.
If the car couldn't be towed we carried an axle and set of wheels that were put under the car's rear for towing.
Pretty primitive stuff, and you ended up with wood splinters in your hands if you didn't wear gloves from the wooden poles.
What a difference today sophisticated tow trucks are.
In actual fact they are not really tow trucks (you may see a genuine tow truck used to tow heavy vehicles).
They are flat tops with a rear tray that drop down to accept a vehicle which is winched on by an electric winch. They carry the vehicle not tow it.
Licencing laws are much tougher these days and the race to an accident after listening in illegally on a Police radio are well and truly gone.
Police who tipped of their 'favourite' tow truck operator are also a thing of history, for good reason.
If my dad was to return today he would find a different world to the one he left. 'Where have all the tow trucks gone? Long time passing'.
Motoring news locally every Saturday at 5am on 101.5 Great Lakes FM and 10am on 106.5 Rhema FM. Also Sunday 2pm on 103.3 2TLP 2.00pm every Tuesday on 101.5 Great Lakes FM. Road Ramblings can also be heard worldwide on the web by going to www.roadrambs.com. You can now find and listen to Road Ramblings on Facebook. Have a look and give us a like.
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Who Worked it? Any Pictures?
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — A tractor with a flatbed and forklift jackknifed on Nevada State Route 28 near Sand Harbor State Park after the driver lost control of the vehicle due to icy road conditions.
According to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Castor, the driver skidded out of control and struck two trees before jackknifing, blocking both traffic lanes.
The tractor began to leak coolant, oil, and diesel that was inside and on the vehicle.
The incident was reported at 12:19 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 to North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and NHP. A tow truck was called and the correct size tow-truck arrived to remove the vehicle at 5 p.m.
NLTFPD led the initial cleanup along the part of the road that would drain to a creek that leads to the lake in order to stop any contamination.
Trooper Caster reported that while the vehicle was removed from the roadway at 5:45 p.m., the road remained closed until about 11 p.m. in order to finish the clean up of fluids.
“This is a hazmat situation,” said Trooper Caster. “It’s a very sensitive ecological area.”
Nevada Department of Transportation led the clean up operation and dispactched the environmental and industrial services company Clean Harbors based in Sparks to the scene. Clean Harbors cleaned up many gallons of liquids that were spilled on the roadway that was not already cleaned up by NLTFPD.
The clean-up took double the time that was originally estimated by officials, but overall it is believed that got the majority, if not all, of the hazardous waste from the accident.
The driver of the vehicle was taken to an area hospital to be treated for undisclosed injuries.
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Tow truck parked on parkway as reminder to move over: “Lights on for Martinez”
Syracuse, N.Y. — Drivers on the Onondaga Lake Parkway may have noticed a tow truck parked on the side of the road with its lights flashing in recent days.
Michael Epolito parked it there as a reminder: Move over for emergency and other vehicles parked on the side of the road.
Epolito parked the Midstate and Syracuse Towing truck on the parkway after tow truck driver Irael Martinez was hit by an SUV on Thursday .
Martinez, 48, of Syracuse, was loading a car onto his tow truck when he was hit. The SUV driver was under the influence of drugs, police said. Martinez is in critical condition at Upstate University Hospital.
“My truck is out there to show support,” Epolito said. “Things get forgotten.”
New York state law requires drivers to move over a lane for emergency vehicles and tow trucks stopped on the shoulder. The law is often referred to as the “Move Over” law.
“I want to make it known things aren’t being done,” Epolito said. “Let’s watch out a little further down the road.”
Epolito said drivers need to make sure they are paying attention to more than just the car in front of them.
Other tow truck drivers have parked their trucks on the parkway in solidarity with Martinez since he was struck.
“A bunch of us have gone and sat there,” said Angela Stefanowski, owner of American Towing. “Just to open awareness to these assholes.”
The driver of the SUV, Richard Congel, 76, of Clay, has been charged with assault and DWAI, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office. Congel is the owner of R.C. Congel Boats in Brewerton and Alexandria Bay.
It is likely he will also be charged with a “move over” violation, said Sgt. Katherine Loveland, a spokesperson for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
Until Epolito is satisfied he said his truck will stay on the parkway.
“The lights are on for Martinez,” he said.
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LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — Local tow truck operation workers have made it their mission to spread awareness of the Move Over Laws after 75-year-old Richard Congel hit tow truck operation worker Irael Martinez who was responding to a disabled vehicle along Onondaga Lake Parkway.
Tow Truck workers, Michael Epolito and John Sacco who know Martinez took it upon themselves to take this time to spread awareness and let people know that when you see an emergency patrol vehicle parked with their lights flashing, slow down, move over, and give them room so everyone is safe.
Sacco said, "Instead of going by at 50, slow down at 30. You know give us a chance and give us our space that we need to do our job."
To spread awareness on the matter, Sacco and Epolito have parked their towing trucks to Onondaga Lake Parkway and turned on their emergency lights to remind drivers of what happened to Martinez and to remind them to slow down and move over.
Sacco mentioned they have families to go home to as well and they worry about their safety because people aren't following the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Laws which states, as soon as you see lights, vests, or reflectors, check traffic around you, slow down and move over, from police or service vehicles. Martinez is 48-years-old and came to the US from Cuba to start a business and provide for his family.
Just like Sacco, Epolito has family back at home like his fiancé who fears that what happened to Martinez could happen to him.
"That is something that she worries about all the time. When I go out all hours of the night you know. Sometimes most of my phone calls are from her," said Epolito.
Sacco has been in contact with Martinez's daughter and stated that he is now in stable condition, but to prevent this from happening again, he and Epolito strongly encourage everyone to educate themselves on the rules.
Many times tow truck drivers are out at night without police, ambulances, etc.
"All-day sometimes, different hours of the evening. Even though we have our lights and police escorts on accident scenes sometimes you just have to be very aware of your surroundings," said Sacco.
To help Martinez, Sacco said his towing company has volunteered their time to do his police towing service calls for him.
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Driver dies in I-80 collision with tow truck
car driven by a man who was not wearing a seatbelt collided with a tow truck Sunday afternoon on westbound I-80 and the car’s driver died at the scene, Contra Costa Highway Patrol said in a Facebook post.
A tow truck was preparing to drive away with a disabled vehicle on the freeway east of Willow Avenue when a Toyota Rav-4 crashed into the back of the truck. The Toyota driver was ejected, the release said.
The driver of the Toyota Rav-4 was pronounced dead on the scene. The occupants of the tow truck suffered minor injuries, officers said.
The collision is under investigation.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/driver-dies-in-i-80-collision-with-tow-truck/ar-AAUotRZ
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Tow truck driver, passenger left injured by car on Interstate 394
An average of 24 emergency responders including tow providers are struck and
killed by vehicles while working at the roadside each year, according to AAA.
MINNETONKA, Minn. — A tow truck driver and passenger are recovering tonight after after a car crash on Interstate 394 at Hopkins Crossroad in Minnetonka Saturday night.
Minnesota State Patrol says a tow truck driver and his passenger were injured when a car ran into an SUV being loaded onto the tow truck, before the car spun around and was hit by another SUV.
"It's a tremendous problem."
Quinn Piening is the president of the Emergency Road Service Coalition of America, which is focused on advocacy and training.
"We train operators in the essentials of towing and the foundation is based on safety," he said.
He says instances like this happen far too often nationwide. An average of 24 emergency responders including tow providers are struck and killed by vehicles while working at the roadside each year, according to the American Automobile Association. This data means someone in the line of work is killed, on average, every other week.
"The towing industry has a motto of slow down and move over," said Piening.
Minnesota's Ted Foss "Move Over Law" is named after a state patrol trooper who was killed while on the shoulder of Interstate 90 in Winona back in 2000.
It requires drivers to stay more than one lane away from stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights when possible, or to slow down.
"It's getting away from the cell phone, the distracted drivers," said Piening.
While both the tow truck driver and passenger in this latest incident were left with non-life threatening injuries, Piening is hoping to raise awareness to keep drivers safe. -
Man, woman killed, 2 others injured after SUV slams into parked tow truck on Cross Bronx Expressway
THE BRONX (WABC) -- Two people are dead after an SUV slammed into a parked tow truck on the Cross Bronx Expressway late Friday.
Police said four people were inside the SUV in the westbound lanes of the expressway near Rosedale Avenue just before 11:50 p.m. when the driver somehow lost control.The vehicle slammed into a parked tow truck that had stopped for a broken-down vehicle.
Video from the scene appears to show the car pinned underneath a semi-trailer truck.
A 33-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man were killed.
A 32-year-old woman was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital while a 15-year-old girl was taken to Jacobi Medical Center.
The severity of their injuries is not clear.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. -
Tow truck driver hit by SUV came from Cuba to start business and provide for his family
Salina, N.Y – Irael Martinez came to this country from Cuba to improve his family’s life.
He started Martinez towing seven years ago. He’s the only driver; his wife and daughter help out with calls.
He took jobs 24/7 and worked through the peak of the pandemic. In July 2020 he got on the Syracuse police towing list — a guarantee for more steady work.
On Thursday morning, Martinez was on a routine call - probably for about $70 - helping someone with a broken down car on the Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina.
He was next to his truck loading the car when a Ford Explorer - driven by a man police say was impaired by drugs - struck him.
Martinez is now in critical condition, fighting for his life at Upstate University Hospital.
Martinez, 48, started Martinez Towing and Auto Services in 2014 and was quickly inducted into the competitive brotherhood of the local towing industry, said Joe Britton, who works at Pascarella’s Towing Service.
Martinez is a caring and happy guy, said Angela Stefanowski, owner of American Towing. He loves his work in part because he was able to help people down on their luck, she said.
He does not have the same competitive nature that is common among local tow-truck drivers, Britton said. Despite having a thick accent and being new to the area, he fit right into the tight-knit community, Stefanowski said.
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UPDATED: 03.11.22 to Tower Down
Update (March 11 at 12:30 p.m.) — The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Friday afternoon that Irael Martinez, the 48-year-old tow truck driver, died Friday morning. The sheriff’s office says that additional charges are likely.
Driver charged with DWI after hitting tow truck driver on Onondaga Lake Parkway, sheriff says
Salina, N.Y. — A driver whose SUV hit a tow truck driver working on Onondaga Lake Parkway Thursday morning has been charged with DWI, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard Congel, 76, of Baldwinsville, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs, Sheriff Gene Conway said at a news conference.
Congel failed field sobriety tests at the scene, the sheriff said. He refused to allow his blood to be taken, he said.
The tow truck driver, Irael Martinez, 48, of Syracuse, is in critical condition at Upstate University Hospital, he said. Martinez works for Martinez Towing and Auto of Syracuse.
Shortly after 11 a.m., Martinez was loading a car onto his tow truck when he was hit by a Ford Explorer driven by Congel, Conway said.
Congel did not move his vehicle over into the outside lane as required by the state’s Move Over law, he said.
Martinez was standing next to his truck working to get a vehicle on the flat bed tow truck when he was hit, Conway said.
After the accident, Congel pulled over and stayed at the scene, he said.
Congel is not related to the Congel family who developed Destiny USA and other malls, Conway said.
The crash closed all lanes of the parkway for hours as the sheriff’s office investigated the crash. The parkway reopened at about 4 p.m.
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Unusual Belmont County crash sends tow truck driver to hospital
BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WTRF) The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to an accident at the intersection of State Route 7 and I-470 Monday morning.
Officials say a tow truck driver was out working with a disabled tractor-trailer along the northbound berm at 7:30 a.m.
They say he was standing between the tractor and trailer, trying to disconnect them by removing a pin, when the truck suddenly moved, pinning his leg between the tires of the tractor and the trailer.
They say he was able to call 911 and was transported to an area hospital.
No further information is available at this time.
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Southhampton:
M3 crash near Chandlers Ford: Breakdown recovery worker dies
A recovery worker who was tending to a broken-down vehicle on a motorway has died after being hit by a van.
The 54-year-old man, from Southampton, was struck by a Mercedes Vito on the M3 near Chandlers Ford in Hampshire at about 23:25 GMT on Monday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, Hampshire Constabulary said.
The force said it was appealing for anyone who has any information about the crash, which happened between junctions 13 and 14, to get in touch.
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