Tow truck driver hurt post-storm

Tow truck driver hurt post-storm
from CBC News
April 30,2010

A tow truck driver, trying to clear a crash after a major snowstorm in southern Alberta, was seriously hurt when a car struck him. The tow truck driver was on Highway 22, south of Cremona, when a southbound Volkswagen Jetta hit him on Thursday afternoon. The Jetta's driver then left the scene in another vehicle, said police. Didsbury police said weather was no longer a factor at the time of the collision. The tow truck driver was taken to the Foothills hospital with serious injuries. He is in stable condition.Charges are pending against a man, 48, who is in custody. Power still out About 1,000 homes are still in the dark in southern Alberta after more than 15 centimetres of snow fell in some areas between Wednesday and Thursday.Electricity provider, Fortis Alberta, has 300 workers restoring power to some homes and businesses south of Cardston and in the High River area on Friday. Helicopters are also being used to spot downed lines as some areas are still difficult to access by road."In some areas, the snow is two to three feet deep. That compounded with the high winds that some areas experienced yesterday certainly didn't help," said Fortis spokeswoman Jennifer McGowan.Some rural residents who are in isolated areas with no power need to call Fortis to ensure crews get to them, she added.

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Car Being Towed Catches Fire On I-95

Car Being Towed Catches Fire On I-95

Tow Truck Driver Escapes Unharmed
POSTED: 9:18 am EDT April 28, 2010

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A tow truck driver escaped unharmed after the car he was towing caught fire early Wednesday morning.

The fire started about 1 a.m. along southbound Interstate 95 near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

WPBF 25 News was first at the scene when firefighters were extinguishing the flames.

The tow truck driver told WPBF 25 News he was towing a car that had been involved in a fire when he saw smoke. He stopped to lower the car from his truck when it burst into flames. No One was injured

Fairness in Towing

Moreno Valley tow truck operators could get rotation system

By LAURIE LUCAS
The Press-Enterprise


Tow truck drivers in Moreno Valley may finally get an official rotation system.

Under the proposed city-wide fee schedule for fiscal year 2010-11, tow truck operators would pay an application fee of $2,828 for a five-year contract and post a $5,000 deposit to cover administrative costs. Owners of towed cars would have to pay $74 to recover their vehicles.

The City Council is expected to vote on the fee schedule tonight after a public hearing , which starts at 6:30 p.m. State law requires that municipalities can only charge fees to recover costs, not to make profits.

Moreno Valley has an ordinance that's languished on the books for more than a decade involving towing service rotation, said Rick Hartmann, the interim assistant city manager.

Most California cities and counties have a rotation set up with area operators so that business is spread out equally.

Hartmann said that currently six tow truck operators serve Moreno Valley. "They've requested a formalized, comprehensive program," he said.

Another suggested change before the council is raising the CPR and First Aid class fees in the Fire Department from $30 to $65 per student so that the program will become self-sufficient. .

In other business, the board will discuss four funding alternatives to help build $6.3 million worth of Eucalyptus Avenue street improvements between Redlands Boulevard and Theodore Avenue. When completed, this segment will include three full travel lanes, sidewalks, bus turnouts, emergency access and extensive landscaping.

This important arterial highway is near the future site of Highland Fairview Corporate Park, with Skechers USA Inc. as the main tenant. Skechers signed an 11-year, $100 million lease for a 1.8 million-square-foot building.

"The conditions of approval don't say the developer has to fund the improvements," Hartmann said. "The conditions say the developer has to build them."

He said the city has come up with proposals for the developer, Highland Fairview, to borrow money from different sources. "This is not considered a violation of the conditions of approval," he said.

Seems fair?

Parma gives break on towing fee to crime victims

By Bob Sandrick, Sun News
April 25, 2010, 11:10AM

Victims of crimes like automobile theft will no longer have to pay city towing fees under an ordinance Parma City Council approved Monday.

Under the previous code, the city charged a $25 fee for each car it towed. From now on, the city will waive the fee for crime victims.

Safety Director Greg Baeppler said the ordinance was recommended to council by the city’s Law Department and Police Chief Daniel Hoffman.

E Trucker News

E Trucker News

We're Hiring!

NOW HIRING. Do you have experience in Sales? Experience in towing and/or carhauling? Our company is now hiring for additional salesmen to join our team. Hiring both carhauler salesman and towing salesman. Learn more on our website at www.ectts.com/careers. Email your resume to BBerger@ectts.com, fax to 757-465-2211, or apply online.

We're Hiring!

NOW HIRING. Do you have experience in Sales? Experience in towing and/or carhauling? Our company is now hiring for additional salesmen to join our team. Hiring both carhauler salesman and towing salesman. Learn more on our website at www.ectts.com/careers. Email your resume to BBerger@ectts.com, fax to 757-465-2211, or apply online.

We're hiring

NOW HIRING. Do you have experience in Sales? Experience in towing and/or carhauling? Our company is now hiring for additional salesmen to join our team. Hiring both carhauler salesman and towing salesman. Learn more on our website at www.ectts.com/careers. Email your resume to BBerger@ectts.com, fax to 757-465-2211, or apply online.

Driver rescued, Reed's Towing lifts truck 40 feet back onto road - Massillon, OH - The Independent

Driver rescued, Reed's Towing lifts truck 40 feet back onto road - Massillon, OH - The Independent

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One of those days...

Tow truck driver dies after crashing into Chesapeake store

by Brandon Foster-Gray


Posted on April 13, 2010 at 9:28 PM

Updated Tuesday, Apr 13 at 10:15 PM

CHESAPEAKE-A tow truck driver who crashed into a pool and leisure supply store Tuesday evening has died.The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m., at East Coast Leisure, located at 3269 Western Branch Boulevard. According to police spokesperson Dorienne Boykin, the driver, 48-year-old Durward Whitehead, Sr. of Elizabeth City, N.C., was driving the tow truck, when a medical emergency caused him to lose control and crash into the store.The store was closed at the time of the crash.Whitehead was taken to Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, where he died. Boykin does not know whether Whitehead died as a result of his medical condition or injuries suffered.

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Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Mr. Whitehead.


-East Coast Truck & Trailer

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1 person hurt as train pulling safety caboose collides with tow truck in Jacksonville

1 person hurt as train pulling safety caboose collides with tow truck in Jacksonville

from the Florida Sun Times April 2010

Posted: April 8, 2010 - 1:50pm


A train engine pulling a caboose used to promote railroad crossing safety collided with a tow truck in North Jacksonville this afternoon, injuring the tow truck driver, police and fire officials said. The accident occurred about 1:15 p.m. in the 9200 block of North Main Street across from the Preferred Materials concrete plant. A tow truck from Abe's Wrecker Service was leaving a junkyard and crossing a train track when it was struck by the northbound engine and caboose, said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Allen Eason. There was no crossing arm at the site, but there was a sign warning motorists about the track. Eason said the tow truck driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The man, taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital, has not been identified.The CSX engine was pulling an Operation Lifesaver caboose. Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of railroad crossing hazards, said Gary Sease, a CSX spokesman. A message on the caboose read: Look. Listen. Live. The engine and caboose were headed to work switching trains. No one on the engine was injured and no one was in the caboose.
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AutoNation CEO: “Fat V” Recovery for Auto Sector

Published: Thursday, 1 Apr 2010

1:26 PM ET Text Size By: Brooke Sopelsa


By: Brooke Sopelsa
Writer/Producer, CNBC.com

The automotive sector was handed major setbacks during the recession, but Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, said the industry is in store for a “Fat V” recovery.“We plunged from 16 million (vehicles sold) down to 10 million in two years, and it’s going to take us about four years to get back to 16 million,” Jackson explained.Jackson, who runs the largest chain of auto dealerships in the United States, added that March was an “excellent month” at the retail level.“I think March is going to break through 12 million units,” he said.He noted that 12 million is still a “depression-level number” but said the rise from last year’s sales is a confirmation of the recovery. He also said incentives would enhance March's sales results.

More Good News?

Light at the end of the tunnel

 LOUISVILLE, Ky. Daimler Trucks chief Andreas Renschler said Thursday that his company is readying the largest introduction of new vehicles in its history.At a press event at the Mid-America Trucking Show here, Renschler said Daimler Trucks over the next four years plans to spend 2 billion euros, about $2.65 billion, on the biggest product launch in our history.While he acknowledged that the global truck market is still facing headwinds,Daimler believes in reinvesting into its product lines.We have the pedal on the metal, he said.Daimler Trucks North America President Martin Daum told Transport Topics that the product plan focuses on improving fuel efficiency of its diesel engines and expanding use of compressed natural gas and liquid natural gas engines. Daum said DTNA has received close to 7,000 orders from more than 700 customers for new Class 6- 8 trucks that feature selective catalytic reduction systems.Daimler is using SCR aftertreatment to comply with new Environmental Protection Agency limits on nitrogen oxide emissions that take effect this year.