Sometimes The Path Of Least Resistance is Strait Up...

[EdsTowing]

We had quite a few crashes this week but this was the most interesting. Customer bought this Infinity Q60 a few days ago and "left the roadway" around 6 in the morning. Took out a mail box and then launched off a rock & boulder embankment behind a guardrail. The car went about 300' through bamboo trees until he hit a few trees of "girth"....

 

 

He went in at the far left of this photo... Once we looked at the area, it was figured the best course of action would be a Tator recovering it up & over the guardrail. To go back the way it went in was 300' and the more destructive way over the rocks...

 

 

Luckily he was ok and able to get out of it. He climbed up the 40' embankment to get help. if not I'm pretty confident he wouldn't of been found till winter...

We hoisted a box full of straps & rigging down to the scene for rigging...

 

 

1st I rigged to the  front wheels to spin it around and pull it 30' up so it would center under the boom...lots of trees in the way. 

 

 

Then it was Up and away...

 

 

Mike dropped it right on the rollback...

 

 

Packed up our toys and brought it all home...

 

 

A Thank You to Milewski's Towing in Scranton for the assistance. The job went fast and we were compensated in 3 days....On to the next.

[rreschran]

Hey Mr. Ed ... the last picture shows your arrow-board truck serving as a blocker and emergency lighting. No critism here, but, for odd requests like this one, do the local cops ever come and help out?  Great pics that demonstrate the need and use of specialized equipment. Nice !!      R.

[EdsTowing]

Yes the police & fire companies help us with traffic all the time. In this case, it was pretty hectic with accidents. One of my drivers actually left this scene to go to anther one a mile away with the officer. My son told the officer that we would block the lane for the short period that we needed and they didn't have to return. With the intersection just a short distance above us, not much traffic in this area and good site lines I wasn't too concerned. Usually the fire dept. would be on scene but they weren't called for this job. It's getting harder for those guys due to a lack of volunteers and this being @ 7am when people are getting to work.

[rreschran]

Thanks for the message back. I like the cooperation that you have with your agencies. I know how fast small communities can get overwhelmed with the world is crazy and there's not enough assets to go around. You're company and your on-scene tactics are to be commended Ed. I'm hope that others see how you respond and what safety features you put in-place, especially since you introduced the arrow-board van as a support vehicle. I salute you.     R.

[mushspeed]

Ed....that looks like quite an awkward pick ....I'll bet that embankment is a lot steeper than the pictures portray....quite a climb for the motorist to get out and get help and quite a climb to get down to rig and retrieve it ....and what about the little critters in the undergrowth?

The use of the Sonic walkie talkie  equipment is perfect for this job  when  the crane operative is totally unsighted with the casualty vehicle 

 

I agree with Randall your on scene tactics are first class and sets a very high standard ....on safety,  public awareness and professionalism ....

A fine example of how the job should be done ....

 

John.

 

 

[EdsTowing]

Thanks John. I consider guys like Randall & Yourself at the "Top" of your games and value your opinions... and/or criticisms for that matter. And you're right about the embankment...I went down & up it twice and I was ready for 8hrs sleep & a bowl of Wheaties...

 

The headphones really "shined" that day...worth their weight in gold. The pic of Eddie standing on the roof of the car was trying to show Mike where we were at for boom placement! The ability to communicate normally made the situation a lot safer and honestly a lot less dramatic. Nothing like guys "screaming" at each other trying give direction to make the situation seem more hectic... They are expensive for the initial purchase but we charge accordingly for their use and it wasn't even brought up by the claims handler.

 

As for the job, I sincerely think this was the best option. Yes it could be done with less...and cheaper I assume...but I'm not in a "race" to the bottom... If I used my 35 ton, I would have had to close the southbound lanes. Closing a state highway certainly requires a Police presence and adds an "urgency" to the task. I have done over the guard rail jobs with 2 small trucks but it takes some "finesse" as well as the potential of problems that comes with it. There is a Trout Stream that runs down through there that I don't need to disturb or contaminate while I try to save some company a few bucks. And in the end with a properly documented invoice and pictures to substantiate your methods, there was no drama in the best part....The "reward"...LoL