Tow truck driver 'suffers every day' after Josh Hancock accident (from 2007)

[Tow411]

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The tow truck driver who was involved in Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock's fatal car accident says he suffers every day when he remembers the event.

Thirty-3-year-old Jacob Hargrove tells KSDK TV in St. Louis that he has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome since the accident.

Authorities say Hancock rear-ended Hargrove's truck in April while Hancock was driving drunk. Hancock's father is suing Hargrove's company for negligence in the accident.

Hargrove says he thinks about the accident every day. He remembers seeing Hancock's truck speeding toward him without showing any signs of slowing down. Hargrove says he braced himself in the truck but was thrown around like a rag doll.

 

Wreckerman05 said:

hes the one who needs to be talking to lawyers--iam sure he has suffered as much or more than anybody else has-

 

Towmaster B said:

He needs to file a counter-suit due to the damages of his truck caused by the negligence of a drunk driver.

 

60 Tonner said:

You know what its people like this in this world who shouldn't be here josh hancocks dad wants to sue dude your son was the dumbass who got in the car drunk what the hell do people think.

 

Muskegontowguy said:

I didn't think of a Pain and suffering suit that way. But you guys are right. Physiological pain and suffering is just as real and even times more debilitating than Physical Pain. I think this driver should Definitely file a counter claim against the Players estate.

Greg Kowalski

[Tow411]

Tow truck driver threatens lawsuit in Hancock death
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
Associated Press Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A lawyer representing the tow truck driver involved in the fatal crash of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock is giving Hancock's family 21 days to drop its wrongful death lawsuit.

If the family doesn't drop the suit, attorney Robert Pedroli said Wednesday he will countersue and seek punitive damages from Hancock's estate.

"They're ignoring all the facts and proceeding with a frivolous lawsuit," he said, adding that he's not looking to punish Hancock's family.

Keith Kantack, a lawyer for Dean Hancock, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Hancock was killed April 29 after his sport utility vehicle plowed into the back of a tow truck while it was stopped in front of a stalled-out vehicle on Interstate 64 in St. Louis.

Authorities said the 29-year-old pitcher had nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He also was speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, authorities said.

Hancock's father, Dean Hancock, of Tupelo, Miss., filed a lawsuit in May claiming negligence contributed to Hancock's death.

Named in the suit were Mike Shannon's Restaurant, where Josh Hancock drank before getting on the highway; Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager; Eddie's Towing; tow truck driver Jacob Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

Pedroli said the evidence shows that the crash was caused by a variety of factors - Josh Hancock's blood-alcohol level, his cell phone use, and lack of significant braking.

He said there is no evidence that his client, Hargrove, contributed to dangerous road conditions. In fact, he made them safer by coming behind an unlit, stranded vehicle that had hit the median, he said.

Pedroli said Hargrove turned on his truck's lights, called 911 and reported the accident location.

Hargrove was sitting inside the tow truck when the accident occurred. Pedroli said his client was "banged around pretty good" and suffered emotional scars.

"It's a frivolous lawsuit in our opinion," he said.

The demand includes dropping both the tow truck driver and the towing company from the suit.

"We're taking the high road here," Pedroli said. "This lawsuit is against all good reason and common sense, and it's receiving the wrath of the nation."

Hargrove was served with that lawsuit Tuesday, prompting Wednesday's call for the Hancock family to drop it.

The lawsuit accuses Hargrove of "negligently parking his vehicle in the left lane of Interstate 64 and blocking oncoming traffic and failing to adequately warn approaching motorists."

 

bigd1 said:

No one wants to take personnel responsibility anymore. If they don't drop it go get them if the driver needs financial help count me in because tomorrow it could be one of us.
Dion

 

Towmaster B said:

I'm glad the towing company is standing up for what is right!!!!! It is in my opinion nonsense that the towing company and driver are being sued in the first place. Somebody kills themselves by drunk driving and the family sues everyone else?! That is not right. I hope the towing compoany sued the family for the damages occurred to his truck when it got hit by the DRUNK driver!

 

towingtech said:

Eddie's Towing and Jacob Hargrove stick to your guns

Why not sue the family for not raising their son to be responsible for his actions.

Why was a family member not at the restaurant to baby sit this person so he did not drink too much and cause the incident to happen.

The new word that I hear all the time is I will "sue" you and my response is does your lawyer need a new BMW.

Lawyers are the source of most of these CRAPPY suits.

MY TWO CENTS

 

750 600 said:

Five years ago we towed a box truck that had crossed from south bound 95 into the center median becoming air born doing a nose dive onto the north bound lanes ejecting its load ( this was a moving truck ) across all the lanes finally coming to rest upside down on top of the guardrail on the right shoulder.
State highways (CHART) brings out a loader and pushes all the load into the left median ditch area.Five hours and six flatbed loads plus the heavy tow later we were done,mind you this was on a mid August Sunday in 100 degree heat.I had also called in two drivers who were off to get their trucks and help with clean up at triple their normal pay.
Needless to say there was not much left of the load after the wreck and CHART pushing it into the median.

Short version.
Moving company from the west coast was hired by a woman to move her life to the east coast,along the way they transfer her load in Chicago to another mover who in turn transfers her load and another load in New Jersey to another mover with an additional load to be dropped at locations in the Baltimore/Washington area.She does not insure her property the two other parties did,her declared value of the property was under $3000.00.The last mover was not insured at all,no truck or cargo,and had expired tags.

We found a bill of lading in the truck and after talking to all parties involved we all agreed it was a losing deal for everyone.Never the less we all agreed to seperate the load by owner and split the bill for cleanup by weight ( three ways ) per each party.We were paid by the two insurance companies involved for their part and the owners came out and got what they could salvage the rest we disposed of.The owner of the uninsured property became an issue because after mulling it over she decided she should be held harmless and get her property ( what was left of it ) back at no charge.It turns out she was starting a new life here in MD and got a job as a paralegal so she sued everyone involved seperatly including us.

She sued us for the declared value of the property plus replacement cost of the property,lost wages and for counsaling ( shrink ) services plus $500,000.00 in punitive damages for conversion,emotional distress,depravation of the use of her household goods and a few more legal terms i have forgot.She filed the same basic suit against everyone just changing the wording as she needed.This went on for more than a year,motion after motion delay after delay.We finally got into court and after the Judge chastized her for filing one of the most frivilis lawsuits he had ever seen he ordered her to hire legal counsal to help her review two things under MD law.One,there is a law that says a tow company MUST CLEANUP AND REMOVE ALL DEBRIS from an accident scene and the surrounding area including grassy off road areas ie: median strips and ditch's.Part of her suit said we should have left her property on the side of the road for her to remove.Two what her responcibility was under midigation basicly telling her she was responcible for her property and the cost of cleaning it up.He then ordered her to do so within thirty days " if she felt the need ".

My lawyer had asked for dissmissal at the start of this and every motion there after.He asked the judge why he gave her another chance to file.He said that he understood why she did it but that ( he had seen this before ) as a paralegal she thought she understood the law and needed time to REVIEW AND RETHINK what she was doing.
We did not get another notice and our lawyer again filed for dissmissal which was granted.
She also had gotten a court order preventing us from disposing of the truck and her property which by this time had sat in our lot for over a year.Once we got our dissmissal I got rid of the truck right away.We had a counter suit against her for her share of the bill,the cost of buying a 20' container to PRESERVE her goods since I had a DUTY to do so plus an ongoing monthly fee for storage.
She settled this with us for half the cost of the cleanup on the condition we let her sort through her stuff and at our cost dispose of the rest,As for the container and monthly fee I cut my losses and got it over with.

I know it was off the cuff a little but this goes to show you we can be sued for anything.This cost me over $10000.00 in legal fees and over a year of unnecessary stress with no way of recovering any of my out of pocket expense let alone what was actually due to us.

Hope all goes well for the driver and company.

 

[rreschran]

Is this an example of tow truck operator's experiencing PTSD? This is a tough topic tow owners tend to avoid discussion thinking tow truck drivers should be tough and to, "buck-up".

 

I thought tow truck drivers didn't get PTSD? Call it what you will, anxiety, stress, mental separation, chemical deficiency, this driver experienced being exposed to a life-altering traumatic event that could have jolted him cockeyed. There's lots of comments about suing, but what about seeking care from a mental health care professional?       R.