Tow Truck Drivers are Scumbags
As I have said before, tow truck drivers can be real heroes when helping out stranded motorists. Quite a few have helped me out over the years. But they can also be predatory scumbags with no scruples, who are essentially licensed by the state to steal cars and hold them for ransom. This post is not about the tow truck drivers who are heroes.
Imagine the horror of having your two-year-old kidnapped by a scumbag tow truck driver. It happened here in Virginia. From Fox5 here:
Two Fredericksburg-area tow truck employees have been charged with felonies after towing a vehicle with a small child inside.
Police said 25-year-old Jason Bryant of Spotsylvania and 21-year-old Derek Miller of Stafford were charged with child endangerment.
The Patriot Towing employees didn’t realize the mistake until getting back to the business shortly after with the car. The 2-year-old girl was unharmed and was returned to her mother.
Police said the men were on the lookout for improperly parked vehicles at a housing complex and saw the woman’s car double parked Sunday.
The mother told police she ran into the home to talk to some people and left the car running and unlocked with the girl in a car seat. When she returned five minutes later, the car was gone.
Predatory bastards. How terrified must that child have been? I’m surprised the assholes returned the kid without making the mom pay a “storage fee.” And notice the story says they returned the kid, but not the car?
I think there is equal culpability here. Why would a mother leave a 2-year old in a running car unattended? She should also be charged.
Anthony, yes, the Mom is ultimately responsible for the protection of her child. I actually don’t know if the Mom was charged or not. But its not against the law to leave a child unattended in a car in the state of Virginia.
From a risk standpoint, the Mom knew she was parking illegally, but it was for just a minute so she could run in and do something at a friend’s house. She just did not factor in the risk that a predatory tow truck driver was waiting around the corner to take her car away.
No, tow truck drivers really are scumbags…
Tow driver demands ‘drop fee’ from assault victim
Dec 10, 4:43 PM (ET)
WILSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) – Neither a bloody face nor a deputy’s plea could stop a tow-truck driver from doing what he’s paid to do. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said a Wilsonville woman fled her apartment Monday night after getting assaulted by her boyfriend. With blood running down her face, she got in her car and sped across the parking lot to her grandmother’s place, where she called 911.
The 25-year-old provided a statement to the responding sheriff’s deputy and then stepped outside to find her car getting towed. The tow driver would not leave the car without making the woman pay a “drop fee.”
“I explained to the tow driver that the woman was the victim of domestic violence,” Deputy Wes Hall told The Oregonian newspaper. “I told him there was no place to park, so she left the car with its four-way flashers going, because she was trying to get away.”
The deputy’s arguments failed to persuade.
The driver, who works on commissions, was completely within his rights to tow the car or charge a drop fee to leave it, said Charles White, general operations manager for Retriever Towing. The amount the woman paid has not been disclosed, but White said the fees run as high as $160.
White said Retriever is under contract to patrol the parking lots at the apartment complex, ensuing that fire lanes and emergency-access routes remain unobstructed. “The deputy has no right to tell him to drop the car without charging a fee,” he said.
Believe me I know tow truck drivers are assholes. I live in Philly. Trust me, I know. But I am sick of parents who treat their kids like luggage.
The driver is not responsible in this matter. If you come upon a car in a parking lot that is unattended, you can make a reasonable assumption that there wouldn’t be a two year old child in it. Yes, the driver could have inspected the car a little better but on the other hand, a two year old laying down on the seat sleeping with a blanket over him/her can be very hard to spot and easily missed. I should know, I recently towed a car with a 5 year old girl in it. It was 9 pm at night and 20 degrees outside. Impound towers are not the problem here, it’s the irresponsible parents that are. What they did is absolutely child abuse. You NEVER leave a 2 year old alone ina car for any reason. EVER!
Oh, Anthony. In Philly, everyone is an asshole and that isn’t a towing company. It’s a leg of your local government. Quit parking your car without paying the meter and you won’t get towed anymore.
Dimwit
Pretty sure these guys wouldn’t have done this unless they thought the car was empty. Probably a simple mistake that everyone loves to judge them for. Why was a 2 year old in the car alone in the first place? Luckily we haven’t had an issue like this (knock on wood) at our tow service — http://www.mesatowingcompany.com