The Day's Headlines

From Oklahoma City, OK: Bill exempts tow trucks from weight, length requirements

From Macon, GA: State Ups "Move Over" Enforcement

Jerr-Dan's New President

Oshkosh Corporation has appointed Michael “Mike” Walter as president of its subsidiary, the Fire & Emergency Group/Jerr-Dan Corporation. Most recently serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer of General Products Corporation, Walter succeeds Jeff Weller at Jerr-Dan. Weller is retiring as president after more than 38 years with the company.

Walter will lead the Jerr-Dan business unit, driving business strategy, as well as performance and growth for Jerr-Dan’s wreckers and carriers. According to Oshkosh, he has “extensive operations, manufacturing, and business development experience,” and his charge will be to further enhance Jerr-Dan’s fine industry reputation “by accelerating innovation, improving responsiveness to customer needs, and creating a lean production focus.”

In the past, Walter has also held positions with Hendrickson International and Johnson Controls. He has a bachelor’s degree in both mechanical engineering and industrial management from Gannon University in Erie, PA.

This gives a whole new meaning to Heavy Duty

Check out this tank tow truck built to withstand bomb blasts. The RG-33 by BAE Systems costs between $600,000 and $1,000,000.

What in the world happened???

I think this might classify as a Friday Funny! Check out this PT Cruiser that got the best of a tow truck :)

Broken Down Blues

Check out this video by Aaron the Truck Driver posted at his Truck Driver Blog. Here's the description:

A short sad melancholy movie about tow truck drivers and being broken down in Spokane while listening to PowerSolo. Made for Allan Duffin who is a freelance writer for Towing and Recovery Footnotes.

Just have to ask...

Why was the hearse left illegally-parked in a private lot en route to the funeral???? Here's the story from USA Today, titled "Tow Company 'boots' hearse at London funeral."

Check out these two positive stories

Here's a video story on a long-time ME tower that you'll enjoy.

Here's a quick story that one reporter did in IA on a tow truck driver with a trainee while they recovered a SUV.

Mid-Week Funnies :)

DIFFERENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT THINGS
(or the uncertainty of the English language)

Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and values. Stu said, "I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, Did you?
"Leroy replied, "I'm not sure, what was her maiden name?"
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A little boy went up to his father and asked: "Dad, where did my intelligence come from?"
The father replied. "Well son, you must have got it from your mother, 'cause I still have mine."
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"Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully," the divorce Court Judge said, "And I've decided to give your wife $775 a week,"
"That's very fair, your honor," the husband said. "And every now and then I'll try to send her a few bucks myself."
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A doctor examining a woman who had been rushed to the Emergency Room, took the husband aside, and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife at all."
"Me neither doc," said the husband. "But she's a great cook and really good with the kids".
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An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has been living with for the last 40 years.
The Wizard says, "Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you".
The old man says without hesitation, "I now pronounce you man and wife."
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Two Reasons Why It's So Hard To Solve A Redneck Murder.
1. The DNA all matches.
2. There are no dental records.
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A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, "Can you tell me how long it'll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City ?"
The agent replies, "Just a minute.."
"Thank you," the blonde says, and hangs up.
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Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.
"How was he killed?" asked one detective.
"With a golf gun," the other detective replied. "A golf gun?!
What is a golf gun?" "I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan."
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Moe: "My wife got me to believe in religion."
Joe: "Really?"
Moe: "Yeah. Until I married her I didn't believe in hell."
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A man is recovering from surgery when the Surgical Nurse appears and asks him how he is feeling.
"I'm O. K. but I didn't like the four-letter-word the doctor used in surgery," he answered.
"What did he say," asked the nurse.
"OOPS"
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While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and I passed a display of bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying a bathing suit, so sought my husband's advice.
"What do you think?" I asked. "Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?"
"Better get a bikini," he replied. "You'd never get it all in one."

The Day's Headlines

From Chicago, IL: Tow drivers carry new burden in McHenry County

Round of applause goes to...

... an observant Tom Burnham of Fox's Towing in OR for helping an elderly person who had gone missing. After pulling a car from a ditch, Burnham realized that the driver seemed to be disoriented and that the license plates matched those in a bulletin released by the sheriff's office. The 80-year old woman was reunited with her family after Burnham alerted police. Read the story here.

Tow Truck Thieves Nabbed, thanks to GPS

After stealing a tow truck, two thieves were apprehended by its driver, a former corrections officer, thanks to the GPS tracking system on-board. Read the story here.

One cold job

Here's a story on a recovery of truck that fell through the ice on a lake in MI. BRRRR!

Canadian Tow Truck Driver Survives Rollover Crash

One lucky guy...

From The Mississaguga News

By: The Mississauga News

February 17, 2008 12:11 PM - A man is recovering in hospital today after being rescued by emergency workers following a rollover crash on Hwy. 403 in Mississauga last night.
The right lane of the westbound 403 was closed for over an hour following the crash that occurred around 6:45 p.m.
An eyewitness told The Mississauga News that a free-wheeling motorist probably caused the crash when a vehicle cut off the tow truck near the Eglinton Ave. cut-off.
The tow truck went into a slide on the icy road and rolled over. The driver was trapped inside and had to extricated by Mississauga firefighters.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance and remains there in stable condition.
Ontario Provincial Police officers from the Port Credit Detachment are investigating.

Our condolences...

To the family and friends of Pat Cassady, 74, of Bowling Green, KY. He had owned Pat Cassady's Wrecker Service for 35 years. Read his tribute here.

Here's a shocker...

From Montana: Police auction loses money on abandoned vehicles

I don't think this is just in Montana...

Four Everyday Heroes

I found an attention-grabbing story out of Michigan about four wrecker operators who work for Corrigan's Oil and Towing Service who helped rescue a 12-year old boy from a snow groomer at a ski area. At the call of a fast-thinking firefighter, Jeff Adams, Jim Wilcox, Rob Shosey and Ron Riggs were summoned to the scene with their company's plasma cutter to get through the heavy metal pinning the boy's leg. Read the story by Rick Fitzgerald of The Livingston Community News here.

Fruit Salad and Loose Change

Some clean up scenarios that wrecker companies have had to deal with lately:

When the driver of a fruit-filled tractor trailer swerved to avoid a deer, the load ended up all over the road in Charlottesville, VA.
Favorite quote: “I think [the load] consists of grapes, honeydew melon, bananas, cantaloupe and pineapples, but it’s all fruit salad now,” said Larry Sipe, of Charlottesville Wrecker Service, as he helped a crew of day laborers clear the road."
Read the whole story here.

And a truckload of newly-minted 2010 coins dumped in Canada. Read the whole story here.
Most intriguing word of the day: numismatist. Used here: Towing crews and police were still at the crash scene Friday afternoon, after a long night guarding the precious cargo from potential looters or unscrupulous numismatists.
According to Dictionary.com, a numismatist is someone who specializes in collecting numismatic items, especially coins.

Amazing escape from death

Canadian tow truck driver Joe Topuschack of Big Rig Towing is one lucky guy. During a side-of-the-road call to assist a semi, he narrowly missed being mowed over by not one - but two - other tractor trailers. Read about his harrowing day here.

The Day's Headlines

From Cheyenne, WY: Tow truck operator to get $340K from CFD for dragging

From North Andover, MA: Driver smashes into tow truck

From Knoxville, TN: One person killed in North Knox Co. crash

From Barnstaple, England, UK: Homes cleared as lorry crashes through bridge

The Day's Headlines

From Raleigh, NC: Chapel Hill ponders rules intended to thwart predatory towing

From Cleveland, OH: Investigator Exclusive: Towing of cars in Cleveland being mishandled

From Bellingham, WA: Tow-truck death case goes to jury
***Update*** Jury acquits tow truck driver in fatal crash


From Minneapolis, MN: City of Minneapolis to cap towing fees

Obama Bummer in Baltimore

When Senator Obama was 2.5 hours late to a campaign rally at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena, several supporters found themselves faced with tickets and towing fees for expired meters. Read the Baltimore Sun story here.

WienerMobile Recovery!

Looks like the winter weather had its way with the WeinerMobile, too! It took a spin off the road and into an embankment. This hysterical story by George Osgood came from the Star-Gazette Wellsboro Bureau.

Wienermobile wipes out
Famed vehicle spins, crashes on snow-covered Pa. highway; 'hotdoggers' OK.
February 11, 2008
Post Comment
By George Osgood
gosgood@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette Wellsboro Bureau

Buy this photo Zoom Photo GEORGE OSGOOD/Star-Gazette The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile slid off U.S. Route 15 south of Mansfield on Sunday afternoon.

Photo Gallery Wienermobile spins out

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MANSFIELD -- Let's be frank: motor vehicle accidents aren't much fun for anyone.

But when a 27-foot-long tube-steak spins out on a snow-covered highway, it's bound to generate some grins.

That's what happened Sunday to an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Route 15 about two miles south of Mansfield (at least it didn't roll over).

The growler contained two "hotdoggers" -- driver Emily Volpini, 22, of Lexington, Ky., and Caylen Goudie, 22, of Hinsdale, Ill. Although they didn't relish the experience, they weren't hurt, investigating state Trooper Rex Johnson said.

"Hotdoggers" are goodwill ambassadors for Kraft Foods and Oscar Mayer. There are 12 of them in the country -- two for each of the six Wienermobiles. They spend a year on the job traveling around the country. Part of their job is to recruit their replacements.

On Friday and Saturday, Volpini and Goudie and the iconic frankfurter were at Syracuse University, fulfilling the promise to the winner of "A Weekend with the Wienermobile" contest. Sunday morning, the women and the wiener on wheels headed south toward Penn State, where they will try to recruit candidates for the 2008-09 hotdoggers from a stable of Nittany Lion hopefuls.

Mother Nature intervened, though briefly, at 12:20 p.m., putting the plastic porksicle on the median and out of service.

"We thought we had come out of the blizzard," Goudie said. "We thought we were through it. Then we hit a patch of ice. The Wienermobile weighs 7,000 pounds, so usually ice and snow isn't much of a problem. It was this time."

Stuck, Volpini called 911 dispatchers in Wellsboro. Though skeptical at first, they notified state police at Mansfield. As passersby called in the crash on cell phones, the dispatchers became convinced that the barkburger was indeed in hot water.

Police contacted Dave Kurzejewski of Costy's Truck and Auto Mart, and he showed up in short order with a heavy four-wheel-drive vehicle and some chains. Johnson, the trooper, grilled the women briefly and concluded that a routine and sober spinout was all he had on his plate.

Kurzejewski hooked up and Emily fired up the highway hot dog, and a few well-timed tugs later, the Wienermobile was back on the highway.

For Kurzejewski, veteran of hundreds of tows over the years, Sunday's experience was a new one.

"I've pulled out a lot of vehicles," he said. "But that's the first wiener I've ever pulled out."

It was a first for the women, too. They left none the wurst for wear.

"Usually we try to keep from scratching our buns," Goudie said. "But sometimes, things go wrong."