Tower Down - 03.05.22 (IL) "UPDATED 03.07.24"

[TowZone]

UPDATED: 03.06.22 

Tow truck driver hit by car dies

 

Updated at 7:33 p.m. — The tow truck driver who was struck on the job Saturday night has died, according to the St. Joseph – Stanton Fire Protection District where he worked as a volunteer.

The fire department identified the victim as Ross Booker, a 20-year-old graduate of St. Joseph-Ogden who worked at Tatman’s Towing.

 

First responders repeated calls to urge drivers to slow down and move over after a teenage driver struck and killed

tow truck driver and volunteer firefighter Ross Booker. Source: St. Joseph – Stanton Fire Protection District

 

 

Tow truck driver hit by car 03.05.22

 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A tow truck operator is fighting for his life after he was hit by a car while responding to a crash Saturday evening.

 

The operator and Champaign police officers were on the scene of a two-vehicle crash at near the intersection of Neil Street and Windsor Road. No one was hurt in that crash.

 

The operator, a 20-year-old man from Tolono, was cleaning up debris in the roadway when he was hit. He was taken to Carle Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

 

The preliminary investigation indicated that the driver who hit the operator failed to change lanes. That driver, a 16-year-old from Tolono, cooperated with officers at the scene and was released with a ticket for violating Scott’s Law.

 

Scott’s Law mandates that drivers slow down when approaching stationary emergency vehicles with lights activated and change lanes if able.

 

The Illinois State Police are assisting in the investigation. Anyone who witnessed the incident of who has additional information is asked to call Champaign Police at 217-351-4545 or Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477. Information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers online or through the P3 Tips app.

 

RESOURCE LINK: https://www.wcia.com/news/tow-truck-driver-hit-by-car/

[TowZone]

 

 

Traffic Accident with Injuries– Windsor Road and Neil Street

 

On March 5, 2022, at approximately 8:34 p.m., Champaign Police responded to the area of Windsor Road and Neil Street for the report of a traffic accident. The initial traffic accident involved two vehicles and no injuries. At 9:06 p.m., as officers were still on scene, an operator for a local tow company was cleaning up debris in the roadway remaining from the initial accident when a vehicle southbound on Neil Street, driven by a 16-year-old Tolono man, struck the tow company operator. The tow company operator, a 20-year-old St. Joseph man, was transported to Carle Foundation Hospital by ambulance with life-threatening injuries.

 

The preliminary investigation indicates the driver failed to move over and struck the tow company operator. The driver of the vehicle cooperated with police and there were no indicators of impairment. A citation for a Scott’s Law violation was issued to the driver and he was released.

The Champaign Police Department would like to remind the public of the statutory requirements of Scott’s Law.

 

Scott’s Law, 625 ILCS 5/11- 907(c), mandates that upon approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle, when the authorized emergency vehicle is giving a signal by displaying alternately flashing red, red and white, blue, or red and blue lights or amber or yellow warning lights, a person who drives an approaching vehicle shall:

1. proceeding with due caution, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to that of the authorized emergency vehicle, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions, if on a highway having at least 4 lanes with not less than 2 lanes proceeding in the same directions as the approaching vehicle; or
2. if changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe, proceeding with due caution, reduce the speed of the vehicle, maintaining a safe speed for road conditions and leaving a safe distance until safely past the stationary emergency vehicles.

Illinois State Police are assisting with the investigation and reconstruction of the accident scene.

 

RESOURCE LINK: https://champaignil.gov/2022/03/06/traffic-accident-with-injuries-windsor-road-and-neil-street/

[mooresbp]

Our thoughts and prayers

[5towman]

Hoping for a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers will be with this young man. 

[Crofoot]

Prayers for a quick and full recovery 

[Towman12318]

Thoughts and prayers

[TowForce]

We recieved notification this tower struck had past.

 

"Updated to from Tower Struck to Tower Down 03.06.22"

 

That information was not accurate at time of update.

Our apologies as we work to get the accurate information.

 

That Report was Now been Confirmed by News Reports.

 

UPDATED: St. Joseph tow company operator dies after being struck while responding to accident

 

CHAMPAIGN — A tow company operator who was struck while responding to an accident Saturday has died, officials announced Sunday night. 

Coroner Duane Northrup identified the 20-year-old victim as Ross D. Booker of St. Joseph. Mr. Booker was pronounced dead at Carle Foundation Hospital shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, Northrup said.

 

Mr. Booker was taken to Carle with what police described as life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle while responding to an accident Saturday night.

     

 

Mr. Booker was a member of the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Protection District. In a Facebook post Sunday, the department wrote:

"It is with immense sadness that we have to pass along the information in regards to the passing of one of our department members.

"Our thoughts are with his family, his friends, & anyone who ever met the young man. Ross Booker was involved in a tragic accident, while working yesterday evening for a local towing company, when he was struck by a vehicle. Unfortunately, he ultimately succumbed to those injuries earlier this evening.

 

"Ross was a 20 year old, SJO graduate & hometown kid. He walked in the doors at the station, sought information on joining & literally latched on with a passion that inspired more of us, than he will ever know. This young man was dedicated to serving, whether it was his career, being a part on this department, or his hopes & dreams, his visions were always on helping people. Not only that, but the young man had a smile that could light up a room.

 

"Fly high Ross Booker & know the impression you left on your family, your friends, your fire family, & this community as a whole will live on, in your honor.

 

"We ask that everyone hold his family, friends, & classmates up, as they mourn the immense loss. And in honor of Ross, we ask each & every one of you to remember, when you see emergency lights, from police, fire, EMS, & towing companies, slow down, keep your eyes on the road, & move over. Those lights mean that there is someone working up ahead, with a life to live & family & friends that are waiting for them to come home."

 

The 16-year-old Tolono man driving the car that struck Mr. Booker was issued a citation for violating "Scott's Law," which requires motorists to slow down when approaching an accident with emergency vehicles present.

 

Police said the driver was cooperative and there were "no indicators of impairment."

 

RESOURCE LINK:

[James Bixler]

I will pray for his loved ones. I am absolutely enraged that he only gets a ticket. Our lives are only worth a ticket when someone negligently kills us? This is terrible.

[hookrite]

Prayers to all......

We have started shutting the roads down completely at accidents to avoid this from happen. If they wont slow down and move over STOP THEM.

[EPIC TOWING]

Our Prayers Are With The Family 

[Josette]

Dear Lord I pray for the young man's family and coworkers. There are no words you can say, but sorry.  Another 1 of our brothers taken way too soon. 

[rreschran]

Having a young son who's a fire fighter paramedic, this hits close to home. It's such a tragedy to lose another tower and an upcoming fire fighter as well. I question what kind of on-scene management (existed at this crash) whether or not LE was aware young Ross was working in harm's way? Did the PD provide any on-scene protection or traffic control as he worked to clear debris in lanes? Because part of a tower's on-scene respnsibility is after-crash clean-up, blocking for him, or stopping traffic should have been a priority, or, was the on-scene officer sitting inside the patrol car because it was raining? And, I'm thinking those barricades came AFTER Ross was struck. I agree that Mr. Hookrite; is 110-percent correct to say that roads should be shut-down while crash scenes are active. One thing remains ... even with over-head lights on, cops on-scene, fire department positioned, a reflective vest is worn, or, motorists hear audible warnings of an "incident ahead", these ALL lead to a false sense of security. Fact: Stepping into the roadway or highway lanes becomes an activity where pedestrian strike is always danger close. Tower's shouldn't go into lanes until some level of protection is in place. Chances are that teen motorist didn't know about SDMO. Christine and I pray for Ross's familiy, Tatman's Towing and the community Ross served.     R. 

[JustTowIt377]

This is gut wrenching to read. I pray for this young man’s family and friends.  

Edited March 10, 2022 by JustTowIt377

[TowZone]

Tow truck drivers pleading for drivers to follow 'Scott's Law'

 

[hookrite]

Just Shut the Road Down.

[TowNews]

Tatman’s Towing raises Scott’s Law awareness after tragedy

 

 

[TowForce]

 

[Moose]

Thanks for keeping these reports updated....

[TowNews]

'Whatever Ross had his hand in, we’re going to be volunteering in'

 

ST. JOSEPH — Tatman’s Towing owner Jim Hampton said Ross Booker crammed more in his 20-plus years of life than many people three times his age are able to do.

 

“I don’t know of anybody who has done as much as he had in 20 years,” Hampton said of his former employee. “Some people in their 70s haven’t done as much as him.”

 

Mr. Booker, who would have turned 21 this month, died March 6, a day after he was hit by a vehicle while preparing to tow another away from an accident in south Champaign.

 

He had worked for Tatman’s for about a year and was preparing to start an internship as a diesel mechanic with Ryder Truck Rentals after completing the requirements for Parkland College’s Diesel Power Equipment Technician program.

 

Last week, his family was notified that trustees had approved awarding him a posthumous honorary degree.

 

That degree is just one of the ways Mr. Booker, of rural St. Joseph, will be honored.

 

His mother, Marita, who said her son was scheduled to begin his internship at Ryder in mid-March, said an endowment has also been set up in his name at Parkland.

 

“We’d also like to do something for FFA (at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, where he graduated), 4-H,” she said. “Whatever Ross had his hand in, we’re going to be volunteering in.”

 

She said Prairieview-Ogden Junior High, which Mr. Booker attended, is also set to hand out an award May 9 in his honor.

 

“This St. Joseph community is the best community to be a part of,” she said, adding that her husband, Dave, her son, Anthony, “and I and our extended family are beyond grateful, blessed and lucky to be a part of this community.”

 

“We’ve had people in their 70s who said, ‘We’ve never seen a community like yours,’” she said. “It’s got to have a God-centered faith and God-centered love. We’re overwhelmed by the amount of love poured out and over us by this community.”

 

Marita Booker estimated 1,200 to 1,500 people came to her son’s visitation, which started at 4 p.m. and was due to end at 7 p.m. but lasted another three-and-a-half hours due to the influx.

 

His brother Anthony, who said they were close despite being five-and-a-half years apart, said Mr. Booker didn’t care much for book learning. He’d rather be out getting his hands dirty.

 

“It kind of cracked me up the differences in people,” Anthony said. “He could barely make it through the two years, and here my fiancée will have been in school for 11 years. I said, ‘Ross, just a little bit longer.’

 

“He was definitely not one for the classroom setting. I think he liked to be involved and in the middle of everything.”

 

Ross had been a volunteer with the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Department for about a year, his mother said.

 

Hampton called Mr. Booker “awesome, one of the kids that you’re really fortunate to have as an employee, as a teammate.”

 

“He had a great attitude and a great outlook on life,” he said.

 

Hampton said Mr. Booker loved “the adrenaline rush for what goes along with towing, working on the highways.”

 

“He loved the customers. He touched a lot of customers,” he said. “After Ross passed, we’ve had a lot of customers he did help give their condolences on social media, and we had people donate to the Ross Booker Scholarship Fund at Parkland.”

 

Marita Booker said her son wasn’t afraid to put things into perspective for those who had been in accidents.

 

“He saw a mom kind of threaten her kid about driving” after the son had been in a wreck, she said. “He told her, ‘Just be glad he’s OK.’

 

“He was 20 at the time giving wisdom to a mom who should have been glad her son was OK.”

 

Marita Booker said she tried to pass that along to her sons when they would ding the car: Material things can be replaced; it’s people who are important.

 

Her son was also noted for his woodworking ability, building a kitchen table for the family in his father’s shop. He also did landscaping.

 

“He had a phrase for that business: ‘If you want your landscaping to be a looker, call Booker,’” his mother said.

 

Hampton said while Mr. Booker was set to intern at Ryder as a diesel mechanic, he also intended to keep working part-time for Tatman’s.

 

Not long before he was due to start at Ryder, “the guys were having fun with him and calling him ‘short-timer,’” Hampton said. “He said: ‘I’ve got a surprise for you. I’m going to stick around.’”

 

Anthony Booker said his brother was a “hard worker and stubborn at times. He was very caring and always a happy camper. I talked to him every day.”

 

Anthony said he was excited for his brother to experience the “next things coming up in his life — where he’s going to go, who he’s going to work for, what he’s going to do, what awesome opportunities were going to be presented to him.”

 

Anthony and fiancée Cassie will be married June 17. Mr. Booker was to be best man.

 

“It’s definitely like an empty spot now,” his brother said.

 

Resource Link

[hookrite]

God Bless The Family

[Moose]

Thanks, for keeping us updated.

[TowForce]

Central Illinois honors workers who lost their lives on the job

 

The Bookers lost their 20 year old son Ross in a tow truck accident last month.

 

"That job he had for 7-8 months was not for nothing, that he will be remembered," Ross' mother Marita Booker told WAND News.

 

Booker's name will now be added to the Champaign County Worker Memorial. Marita hopes this will help continue their fight to make working conditions safer for emergency responders on the side of the road.

 

"Tow truck drivers, along with fire department folks and ambulance drivers and everybody need to be given the same amount of respect as our officers," Booker explained.

 

But advocates said their work doesn't stop today.

 

"A lot of this could be prevented by simple training, helping people out- instead of letting them fall into a trap," Holman told WAND News.

Holman said over the years, unions and labor leaders have made inroads in safety improvements.

 

"Industry right here in this community, in Macon County, has progressed greatly since the mid-80s, and I want to see more of it. If I could come up here and never put a new name up- I'd be happy," Holman added.

 

Resource Link

[TowNews]

Mother of tow-truck driver: Judge's decision 'a win for Ross'

 

URBANA — Dave and Marita Booker said they will continue to be vocal advocates for Scott’s Law, even though the young man responsible for the death of their son, a tow-truck driver, was convicted of a different petty traffic offense.

 

“If you have a young child getting their license, sit down and talk to them about this,” Marita Booker said of the critical importance of giving one’s full attention to driving.

 

“You can’t take your eyes off the road for a second. It’s not important to drive that fast. Nothing is that important that you have to hurry. Take time with your family. And take pictures. We’ll never get more pictures with Ross,” she said, her previously confident composure fading.

 

The St. Joseph couple, married 34 years, spoke Wednesday at the Champaign County Courthouse, minutes after a remorseful Garrett Wingler, 16, of Tolono, pleaded guilty to failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident in connection with the March 5 accident that killed Ross Booker.

 

Through their attorney, the Wingler family declined to say anything more than Wingler had said in a two-and-a-half-minute statement he gave the judge.

 

“Every day I am reminded of this terrible accident. I wish I could go back in time,” Wingler said. “I am not a bad person. I am a hard worker.”

State’s Attorney Julia Rietz had dismissed a charge alleging Wingler had violated the “move over” law protecting emergency workers on the highway after reviewing an investigation by Champaign and Illinois State Police that showed Wingler was indeed in the correct lane when he struck Mr. Booker, 20.

 

“This is a tragic accident. Ross Booker was a wonderful young man with great prospects for a wonderful future. Garrett Wingler is a wonderful young man who was on his way home from work and has a wonderful life ahead of him,” Rietz said.

'Collateral consequences'

Judge Adam Dill fined Wingler $500 and declined a request from his attorney, Jamie Propps of Champaign, that he consider sentencing Wingler to court supervision.

 

The finding might have enabled Wingler to get his driver’s license reinstated sooner, but Dill said it was not appropriate for him to “consider the collateral consequences of a conviction” in imposing a sentence.

 

The Bookers said they were grateful to the judge for not giving Wingler court supervision.

 

“That was a win for us and a win for Ross. He deserved it,” Marita Booker said.

 

Although Rietz and Propps agreed to the charge to which Wingler pleaded guilty, with his father seated at his right, the attorneys asked the judge to impose a sentence.

 

The Illinois Legislature has dictated that failure to reduce speed is a fine-only petty offense, so Dill’s only decision was whether to grant Wingler court supervision or enter a conviction on his driving record. He chose the latter in light of the loss of life.

 

Calling it a tough decision, the judge thanked the lawyers for their professionalism in presenting him with ample facts on the accident and backgrounds on both victim and offender.

 

Although Dill said his opinion on what Rietz charged was irrelevant, he agreed “wholeheartedly that the tragedy that occurred here is not a Scott’s Law violation.”

 

“The appropriate charge was charged and Mr. Wingler has taken responsibility,” he said.

 

In an emotion-packed 80-minute hearing, Rietz presented an unusual amount of testimonial evidence through Champaign police Detective Rob DeLong to explain why what happened was not a Scott’s Law violation as initially thought.

 

While Dill didn’t need the education, the three dozen supporters of both young men’s families who were in court likely benefited from having the facts of that fateful night spelled out.

 

What happened

DeLong said both his department and a state police accident-reconstruction specialist thoroughly investigated the collision and agreed that Scott’s Law “did not apply.”

 

Champaign police wrote him a ticket for that, DeLong said, based on Wingler’s mistaken response to an officer that he had been in the left lane of southbound traffic instead of the right lane, where he was. Video from cameras in a squad car and a tow truck confirmed that.

 

The detective said Mr. Booker, a part-time employee of Tatman’s Towing, had responded to a two-vehicle, damage-only accident that occurred in the middle of the intersection of Windsor Road and Neil Street about 8:35 p.m. on that Saturday.

 

A half-hour later, police and Mr. Booker were still there.

 

One police officer was in a squad car facing north in the middle of the intersection with lights flashing to prevent motorists from going west on Windsor. In his back seat was a person from the earlier accident. Neither of them saw the tragedy that was about to unfold.

 

A second squad car was in front of two Tatman’s tow trucks that had hooked up the cars. All three of those vehicles were facing north on the northbound shoulder north of the intersection, near Arby’s.

 

DeLong said Wingler had just left his job at Harvest Market on South Neil Street and saw the emergency vehicles to his left as he headed south in the far right lane, which was open to through traffic. DeLong said other cars that had been in the left lane going south were merging over to the right.

 

“He was five lanes over from the tow trucks,” DeLong said of Wingler’s position, pointing to squad-car video of the oncoming southbound cars.

 

Mr. Booker was at the rear of the squad car sweeping the debris from the earlier collision.

 

“He (Wingler) saw Ross Booker and tried to swerve (to avoid hitting him), but was unable," DeLong said.

 

The impact, which was not shown on video, “happened at the rear of the squad car and in the right through lane,” DeLong said.

 

Wingler stopped right away and was “fully cooperative and distraught,” DeLong said. The police officer and his passenger in the squad car did not see the impact but were alerted by another passing motorist who had and then banged on the squad car hood.

 

DeLong said the accident-reconstruction specialist used a mathematical formula to estimate Wingler’s speed based on where Mr. Booker, his broom, sunglasses, hat and a coat button landed. It was between 35 and 43 mph in the 40 mph zone.

“My conclusion is that Garrett Wingler was traveling southbound in the right through lane at or around the appropriate speed limit and that Ross Booker was in that lane,” DeLong testified.

'The outcome is unjust'

Prior to the recommendations of Rietz and Propps for Wingler’s sentence, the judge listened to a 12-minute-long victim impact statement from Marita and Dave Booker that a family friend read for them.

 

They talked of life milestones their son will miss — graduating from Parkland College with a degree in diesel mechanics, starting a new internship, serving as best man in their older son Anthony’s June 17 wedding to Cassie Mick, having a family of his own.

 

He also worked as a volunteer firefighter and occasionally helped on a small hog farm.

 

In the fog of trying to comprehend their son’s extensive brain injury, they decided to donate his organs for transplant and talked of the overwhelming love and respect shown them during that process.

 

They spoke of the 1,500 people who came to his visitation and funeral and of the 70 emergency vehicles and tow trucks, many of them driven by people who didn’t know Ross, who joined in a procession to the cemetery north of St. Joseph where he was buried. Organizer Jim Hampton, the owner of Tatman’s Towing and Mr. Booker’s boss, said the procession was meant to bring attention to Scott’s Law.

 

The Bookers urged Dill to reject court supervision, saying that Wingler was going too fast and the loss of his driving privileges was a small price to pay.

 

“Either way, the outcome of this case is unjust and leaves us hollow,” they wrote.

 

In a shorter statement, Anthony Booker, 26, said he’s still trying to accept the loss of the brother he named.

 

“The hole in my life since Ross has been gone is impossible to climb out of some days,” he said.

 

Although they were not recited aloud in court, Dill had read 12 letters of support for Wingler that Propps had given him prior to Wednesday’s hearing, along with his school transcripts showing him to be an honor-roll student.

 

The letters from Wingler’s relatives and Unity High School staff described him as a hard-working, respectful student, marching band member and athlete who is finishing his junior year.

 

They conveyed his remorse and how the otherwise pleasant, happy and compassionate teen is overwhelmingly saddened by what happened.

Wingler told the judge he needed to be able to drive to continue to work, to get to his grandparents’ home in Mount Vernon where he helps them in the summer, and to eventually get to Parkland College.

 

“I want to do good things and put my full effort into everything I do,” he said.

 

Propps argued that a sentence of court supervision was in the best interest of the public and Wingler.

 

“It’s in the public interest for him to work, further his education and to help his family,” Propps argued, saying that the loss of his driver’s license with a conviction would make those endeavors difficult.

 

“My client has been a role model his entire 16 years on this planet. No matter what sentence, it doesn’t bring Mr. Booker back," she said. "I don’t want the court to throw my client’s future away."

 

Resource Link

[TowForce]

 

[TowForce]

 

[TowForce]

2 years later: Booker family, Tatman’s Towing honoring tow-truck driver killed on the job