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Tribute to tow truck driver who died after tragic accident (PA)


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OVERFIELD TOWNSHIP, WYOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) -- Tow truck drivers across our area are coming together to pay tribute to one of their own.

24-year-old Colin Schaefer died Friday after a tragic accident in Wyoming County.

State police said it happened along Whites Ferry Road in Overfield Township.

According to troopers, Schaefer's wrecker was stuck in a field, so he attached a cable to a telephone pole across the street.

That's when another vehicle hit that cable, causing it to snap and hit Schaefer.

He worked as a tow truck driver for VPR Motors.  Co-owner Victor Vega is asking fellow drivers to bring their wreckers to Schaefer's celebration of life.

"Just to show the brotherhood of the towing community," said Vega.  "It can be competitive, but when one of us goes down, it hurts everyone."

The drivers are meeting at Ace Robbins in Tunkhannock on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before Schaefer's celebration of life at Triton Hose Company at 6 p.m.

 

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Touching Tribute: Tow Truck Drivers Remember One of Their Own

TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. -- There were tow trucks as far as the eye could see.

 

More than 70 tow truck drivers lined up at Ace-Robins Inc. in Tunkhannock on Wednesday to remember one of their own, 24-year-old Colin Schaeffer.

Victor Vega was his old boss at VPR Motors. Vega organized the procession.

 

"He fixes everything by smiling. He smiles at you. It doesn't matter. Everything is better," Vega said.

 

Colin was killed last week. He was trying to tow his own truck after it got stuck before work. A car ran over the cable he laid across the street and the cable snapped, hitting Colin, and killing him.

 

The first tow truck in the procession had Colin's old tow truck on the back with his name written on the front.

 

"He named his truck the Green Goblin. He is going to be the last to drive it. The identity stops with him," Vega said.

 

Tow trucks from all over northeastern and central Pennsylvania as well as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and even Alabama came to take part in the tribute.

 

"You know that the kid was loved. He was a great kid. He just loved his job, loved his trucks, and was an overall great person," Friend Richard Miller said.

 

Hundreds of people watched as the tow trucks passed the Triton Hose Company.

 

Plenty of these drivers didn't even know Colin, but they wanted to pay their respects.

 

"Tow truck drivers the percentage of deaths are very high. We try to support one another. It's a brotherhood," Joe Russell from Grease Monkey Garage in Swoyersville said.

 

"I always wanted him with me, always. Unfortunately, he's not, but he's always going to live with me, always," Vega said.

VPR Motors is making decals in his memory.

 

Tow truck drivers hope more people pay attention when a tow truck is nearby.

 

Resource Link with video

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