ILLINOIS -- Tow Truck Driver Dave Wysong saw the flash, felt the surge and realized he could be in trouble. The next thing he knew, his right arm was twitching and paramedics were telling him he was lucky to be alive. 

A power surge from a nearby lightning strike had run through Wysong, a tow truck driver, while he worked Tuesday along the shoulder of Interstate 69.

"The first thing I thought was, 'I'm in trouble,' " Wysong said Wednesday. "The bolt lit up the whole area."

In his more than four years with Allen County Towing, Wysong has learned I-69 isn't the safest place to pick up stalled vehicles - speeding cars pass precariously close to him. He didn't expect lightning to be another cause for worry, however.

"I've almost been hit by cars on 69, but not by lightning," he said.

Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wysong was dispatched to the shoulder of I-69 northbound, just north of Lima Road. A Porsche needed towing.

It was just about secure when Wysong grabbed a chain he was going to run from the bottom of the car to the tow truck. Just then, a bolt struck a Wells Fargo sign about 25 yards from Wysong.

He had his back to the sign, but Wysong knew what was happening. Immediately after the flash, he felt an electrical surge run through his body. Luckily, he had the chain, which was connected to the bed of the truck, in his hands.

"My hand was burning. I didn't get the full blast, because the chain was touching the bed of the truck. Most (of the electricity) went through the chain," he said. "If the chain wouldn't have been touching the truck, I would have died."

Immediately behind Wysong, another tow truck and a Fort Wayne Police officer were working a minor car accident. The officer ran toward Wysong. The tow truck driver who was working the car accident also felt a slight surge, Wysong said.

Paramedics arrived to find Wysong with his right arm twitching. He was taken to a local hospital and released about 10 p.m..

"My right arm was shaking for most of the night," Wysong said. "My hand is a little red, but there is no (burn) trail on my arm. I feel just a little bit shaky."

The second tow truck driver also was released from the hospital late Tuesday. He could not be reached for comment.

Wysong, a North Side High School graduate, spent Wednesday filling out workers' compensation paperwork and setting up an appointment with Allen County Towing's company doctor. He also spoke with the officer on the scene, who told Wysong the camera in the squad car captured the entire incident.

Wysong has been promised a copy. (Dan Cortez - The News-Sentinel)

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TEXAS -- The City of Houston, which tightly regulates towing fees in the city, will tow away junk cars and mark-up the fee to the cars owner over 400%.

The city council on Wednesday approved the $200 rate for a tow that costs the city only $45, and while towing companies in the city can only charge $83 for a police ordered tow.

According to published reports, the city also intends to take advantage of a new law aimed at price gouging, and limit the fee that can be charged for private nonconcent impounds to 150% of the police ordered tow fee.

Unfortunately, in this instance, it's the city that is price gouging.

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NEW JERSEY -- A sleep-deprived Aberdeen car driver who caused the death of an Edison tow-truck driver in a Sayreville crash was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison.

Superior Court Judge Jane Cantor in New Brunswick sentenced Jody Lawson, 43, of the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen, after hearing emotional pleas from the wives of the victim and the defendant.

She ordered him to serve 85 percent or 40 months of the sentence before being eligible for parole. He will receive credit for 222 days for the time he was held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick, awaiting trial and sentencing.

Lawson pleaded guilty earlier this year to vehicular homicide for causing the death of 49-year-old Richard Hansen of Edison during a Dec. 17 accident in front of Morgan Frame Specialist auto-body shop on Route 35 in Sayreville.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch agreed to recommend he be sentenced as a third-degree offender instead of a second-degree offender. Lawson, the father of four children, faced up to 10 years in prison on the second-degree charge.

Sewitch blamed the accident on reckless driving caused by sleep deprivation.

Sewitch said the accident occurred because Lawson, who had ingested heroin 12 hours before the accident and was coming down from a heroin high, only had three hours' sleep during the 34 hours leading up to the accident.

Hansen's wife, Deborah, urged the judge to sentence Lawson to the maximum.

"You (Lawson) should have never been behind the wheel that morning," she told the defendant. "You changed our lives forever. We have no future to plan for."

Lawson's wife, Deborah, burst into tears and cried as she told the judge how her husband was sleepy when she asked him to drive her to work at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy Division, that morning. He dropped her off just minutes before the accident.

Lawson was returning home about 8:45 a.m., fell asleep at the wheel and ran his southbound Pontiac up the inclined ramp of Hansen's flatbed tow truck, parked on the shoulder of Route 35 in front of the body shop near Loraine Avenue.

Hansen was standing on the flatbed when he was hit. The impact caused Hansen to be thrown about 15 feet. The car went airborne and sailed over the flatbed's cab.

Hansen was at the body shop preparing to pick up a car for Sansone Auto Mall in Woodbridge.

Kevin Lynch, Lawson's attorney, said what occurred was tragic but not a criminal event and asked for the minimum sentence of three years.

He argued the heroin, which had been ingested the day before the accident, did not contribute to the accident.

Lawson, according to court records, has five indictable convictions including four on drug charges dating to 1992, and a 1991 conviction for driving while intoxicated. (Lonnie Mack - Home News Tribune)

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TEXAS -- A new House Bill, authored by Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, allows cities to limit the amount that can be charged for a non-consent tow, such as a private impound.

House Bill 849, which takes effect Sept 1st., allows cities to regulate a towing companies nonconsent impound fee to 150% of the police-ordered impound fee. This means that a city which limits police ordered impound fees to $50, could also limit private impounds to $75.

The bill also requires tow operators to file a fee schedule with the local governing body, and post those fees at the business location. It also prohibits "administration" fees that are charged by some towing companies.

While the bill limits some fees, it also makes provisions for fee increases. The bill says that that a city government that regulates nonconsent tow fees shall establish procedures by which a towing company may request that a towing fee study be performed. Furthermore, if the towing company can provide financial or accounting information that shows the fee to be unfairly low, the city must amend the fee to a fair level. A "fair" level is not defined.

The law also gives municipal courts the authority to hold hearings about nonconsent tows. If wrecker operators are found to have violated the law, they could be fined and required to reimburse the car owner for towing fees.

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MASSACHUSETTS -- The city of Boston is about to raise it's towing fee for the first time since 1968.

The city towing fee, currently $12, has not changed in over 30 years, and some citizens who had their cars regularly impounded are very upset that it's increasing to $75.

Apparently, some Boston citizen's had no regard for public safety and simply parked wherever they wanted because, up to now, the fee was more like using valet parking than getting impounded.

While $75 is a big increase over $12, it's still well under the actual cost of impounding cars, which is $100 to $125 according to the city.

The city had lobbied the state for a fee increase for some time, and after budget cuts forced the state to cut aid to the city, the state finally allowed the city to increase it's towing fee, but only to $75.

Others in the city are glad to hear of the towing fee increase. They complain that they cannot park in front of their own house due to illegally parked vehicles.

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FLORIDA -- Driver distraction could have played a role in a wreck on Interstate 95 in Palm Bay Saturday that killed a Georgia woman and her daughter, authorities said.

Jennifer Hunter, 57, and her 25-year-old daughter Leah, both of Savannah, Ga., were killed on impact when the 2002 Ford pickup in which they were riding crashed into a parked tow truck on the side of the road.

The pickup's driver, 58-year-old John Gary Hunter, was flown to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne after he was rescued from the wreckage by the Palm Bay Fire Department.

He was in stable condition, officials said.

Cpl. Channing Taylor of the Florida Highway Patrol said the Hunters' pickup drifted into the emergency lane of the northbound side of the highway, about two miles north of Micco Road.

Alcohol was not believed to have played a factor in the 1:30 p.m. incident, Taylor said.

Taylor said he found some loose food--potato chips and cheese crackers -- in the wreck, and will look into whether driver distraction played a part in the accident.

Charles Johnson of Lee's Towing was in the driver's seat of the tow truck, getting ready to haul a white pick-up on the flatbed when he was hit.

Johnson suffered minor injuries.

"It's a good thing he wasn't working the controls in the back of the tow truck, or he would've been dead too," Taylor said. (Enrique Heredero - Florida Today)

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DELAWARE -- The city of Newark has introduced an ordinance that would prevent property owners from impounding improperly parked vehicles until the vehicles have remained for two hours.

The ordinance, which applies to private commercial parking areas with 250 or more spaces, would, in effect, let anyone park in your lot for two hours.

Motorists would have two worry free hours to shop anywhere they like, this is very convenient for students who have an hour long class at a one of Newark's nearby collages.

Apparently, several motorists disregarded warning signs at Newark Shopping Center and parked there while shopping at another business down the street. The motorists cars were impounded by the property owner who needed the spaces for paying customers.

Mayor Harold Godwin ordered the ridiculous ordinance be crafted after several of these inconsiderate motorists complained to the city.

By complaining to the city, the motorists were able to get the city to disregard the rights and needs of local business owners, and propose the ordinance that would allow blatant abuse of private property. In fact, the city initially planned to give motorists 5 hours of free private property parking.

Mayor Godwin, who owns a Shell station in town, will still be able to impound vehicles from his lot immediately because his property does not fall under the guidelines of this ordinance.

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ILLINOIS -- The Bloomington council has approved changes to the city code that will allow the police department to tow, impound, and charge huge fines for vehicles involved in certain offenses.

The offenses include driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance; reckless driving; eluding or fleeing a police officer; and illegal operation of a sound amplification system.

Towed vehicles would be released only after a paying a fine of $250 to $500, depending on the offense, and paying towing and storage fees, and a $10 release fee.

Like most municipalities, the city did not create the policy, instead, they copied the idea from the town of Cicero after learning that Cicero was charging these huge fines without opposition.

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FLORIDA -- A Florida town known as a speed trap has met its match in a ongoing tif over speeding tickets.

AAA Motorclub has put two large billboards at the borders to the city to warn motorists to slow down and avoid the speed trap.

The large billboards have got Waldo cops, who wrote 8,347 tickets over four months, up in arms, since fines are a major source of income for the community.

A seething Police Chief A.W. Smith said, "AAA needs to stay with towing and trips." (Thanks Ted)

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INDIANA -- An early morning accident on U.S. 33 today killed one driver and injured another. It happened north of Churubusco near the intersection of 550 East and U.S. 33 at approximately 3:45 a.m.

Whitley County Sheriff's Department investigating deputy Tony Helfrich said the accident occurred when the driver of a southbound semi tractor-trailer crossed the center line to avoid hitting an object in the roadway. Helfrich declined to specify the object the driver swerved to avoid, citing that the object was part of the investigation.

Helfrich said the semi hit a flatbed tow truck that was headed north on highway 33. The force of the crash caused the semi to roll on top of the tow truck, killing the driver.

The driver of the semi was taken to Parkview Hospital. His condition was unknown. The identities of both drivers are being withheld until notification of relatives could be completed.

Helfrich said a representative of the towing company came to the accident site earlier and left to notify his employee's family. Hazmat workers were also called to the scene to clean up fuel spills that poured from both vehicles.

The tow truck was hauling another vehicle, which became separated due to the force of the crash.

Traffic was rerouted at the intersection of State Road 205 and U.S. 33, but about a dozen semi tractor-trailers and other vehicles were brought to a standstill for hours while crews worked to extricate the body from the tow truck and clear debris from the scene.

The Whitley County Sheriff's Department, Churubusco Police Department, Churubusco Fire Department, Whitley County EMS, Whitley County Emergency Management, and the Indiana Department of Transportation provided services at the scene.

The circumstances of the accident are still under investigation. (Rebecca L. Sandlin - The Post & Mail)

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Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s new Citgard Transit Low Ash Engine Oil is specifically formulated to help high-output, low-emission engines combat deposits, disperse soot and resist oxidation.

Towing demands a lot from diesel engines. Long hours and a wide range of operating temperatures can cause sludge and varnish to build up in the crankcase. Available in SAE 15W-40, SAE 40 and SAE 30 viscosity grades, Citgard Transit Engine Oil contains specialized detergents to control piston ring deposits in highly stressed engines.

Additionally, extensive field tests have proven the oil's performance in fleets that contain both gas and diesel engines, according to the company.

Other features include:

• Excellent oil consumption control for heavy-duty service.

• Superior wear protection and friction reduction.

• Compatibility with both gas and diesel engines mean the maintenance manager only has to stock one oil type.

• The multiple viscosity grades permit year-round use in most areas by improving cold starting, as well as full lubricating 

• protection at high operating temperatures.

The oil is appropriate for use with a variety of engines: Allison C-4; Caterpillar; Cummins Heavy Duty B & C models; Cummins CES 20071 & 20076; Detroit Diesel; Ford M2C153-E and M2C171-B; Mack EO-M and EO-M Plus; Navistar International; and Volvo.

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AAA is aiding its affiliated towing businesses by providing access to industry-specific towing communications and management systems on the most favorable terms in the industry.

Under a new agreement effective in June, Service Stations Computer Systems, Inc. (SSCS) is providing tow management products to AAA/CAA clubs and their affiliated road service providers at special AAA/CAA pricing.

The company’s Digital Dispatch product provides call taking, dispatching, two-way text messaging, storage lot inventory, driver scheduling and a bookkeeping interface that produces driver/mechanic commissions, inventory control, repair orders, customer follow up, AR, AP and Profit & Loss, all via the Internet. Since all of the data is stored on Digital Dispatch’s system, customers are not required to have their own server and only need a personal computer meeting minimal technical requirements.

The software programs provide several report types, including motor club call tracking, accounts receivable invoicing, driver schedules and storage lot inventory. Digital Dispatch also accommodates advanced towing communication technologies, such as GPS-equipped pagers that transmit data to and from mobile data terminal-equipped vehicles. Through the use of Digital Dispatch technology, towers have a complete mobile dispatch and spotting system, regardless of operation size or vehicle types. SSCS also provides online and classroom training and 24/7 system support services.

SSCS is based in Salinas, California. Its president and founder Kerry Lugo has been involved in the tow business for 35 years, including 34 as a AAA tow provider with the California State Automobile Association. Lugo has also been in the software business for more than 22 years.

Lugo said, “The entire team at SSCS is excited to be recognized as a AAA Automotive preferred supplier and offer its products to AAA/CAA affiliates. I have had the pleasure of being associated with AAA since 1969, and have gained the knowledge necessary to develop Digital Dispatch and interface the product with D/2000; AAA’s proprietary call receiving and dispatch system.”

“Using Digital Dispatch’s powerful technology tools, AAA/CAA road service providers can increase efficiency, improve accuracy and derive meaningful management information that leads to higher customer satisfaction,” said Margaret Pittelkow, managing director, AAA Automotive.

“AAA’s relationship with SSCS will help our service providers acquire the best-available technologies at attractive prices, that are compatible with D/2000,” Pittelkow said.

AAA-affiliated service providers have access to a wide variety of business benefit programs, including discounted equipment and uniform pricing, special financing rates and fuel prices, as well as access to specialized training and safety updates. More information about the AAA business benefit programs can be viewed on the Internet at www.aaa.biz.

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NEW JERSEY -- Gov. James E. McGreevey yesterday signed a bill that makes it illegal to drive in that state if you have been awake for more than 24 hours straight.

"Maggie's Law" would allow authorities to lodge vehicular homicide charges against drivers who cause fatal wrecks after going more than 24 hours without sleep.

Prosecutors have little discretion to try the cases as anything more severe than careless driving, an offense bringing a $200 fine and up to two points on offenders' licenses. The new law allows prosecutors to charge a sleep-deprived driver with vehicular homicide, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The bill is named after Maggie McDonnell, who was killed in a head-on collision in 1997 by a driver who had been awake 30 hours straight after spending all night in a crack house. The driver, Michael E. Coleman, did not serve any time and was fined just $200. (Thanks Chris)

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TEXAS -- A jealous rage over an ended relationship drove one man to attempt suicide, but when he survived, his reckless damage got him six years in prison.

Tow truck driver, Stefan Ray, 37, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for his May impromptu drive-thru into Ahloo Chinese restaurant in Pasadena.

Ray's 23-year-old ex-girlfriend was working at the eatery that day and called police after Ray threatened to kill himself over their ended relationship.

Officers were at Ahloo as she told them Ray had been harassing her by telephone throughout the day and physically assaulted her the night before, police said.

Ray called her one final time with threats to kill himself by driving his truck into her place of work, police said.

As officers listened to the woman's fear that her ex-boyfriend's threats may be serious, a tow truck plunged into the front wall of the restaurant, injuring a man sitting in a booth next to the wall.

The man sustained serious injuries and was taken to Bayshore Hospital; he was released a few days later in good condition.

As pieces of shattered glass and broken sheet rock settled on the restaurant floor, Ray exited his truck and charged at officers with a chain and tow hook, demanding they shoot him, police said.

Police were able to subdue Ray by force and took him to Ben Taub Hospital for minor injuries and then to city jail.

Ahloo Chinese restaurant spent several days after the collision repairing the hole to its front and was temporarily closed to dine-in patrons. (Heather L. Nicholson - Pasadena Citizen)

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NEW HAMPSHIRE -- It might be tempting to ignore the towing company's bill for carting away that rusted old car you no longer wanted anyway. But now, there's a new reason why you should march right down to pay it: If you don't, the towing company could end up owning your stereo.

A new state law, passed by legislators in June, enables tow truck operators to take the personal belongings they find in the cars they tow - with the exception of items like wallets, legal documents, and medicine - and to hold them until they receive payment for their services. If the owner of an abandoned vehicle does not pay his bill within 60 days, the tow truck operator can dispose of the belongings as he likes, perhaps by selling them at an auction or throwing them away.

About 10,000 cars statewide are abandoned each year, the New Hampshire Towing Association has estimated. While those cars might be worth very little, they're often filled with everything from televisions to clothing to electrical tools. In the past, owners who showed up at most towing companies could demand their car stereos and leave without paying the bill. Operators hope the new law will give those owners a reason to fork over the money.

"Something had to be done to make people take responsibility for their cars and pay the charges to dispose of them," said Rene Fortin, the association president. "It should not be private industry, and the state of New Hampshire shouldn't have to pay for this."

Car abandonment has been a big problem statewide since the 1980s, when junkyards, faced with increased labor costs and the declining market value of scrap metal, stopped accepting the cars for free. Since then, some drivers have disposed of their cars by stripping them of telling registration papers and license plates and leaving them along the road.

The financial burden of getting rid of those cars has fallen primarily on tow truck operators, many of whom have contracts with local police and city departments to take any towing job they're called to do. Towing companies generally regard such contracts as beneficial, Fortin said, because they can bring in many good jobs. (A towing company might get called in to take away a car with a flat tire, for example, or a car that was damaged in an accident but can be fixed.) But when the companies are called to tow an abandoned car, they often take a loss.

"It's a question of just playing the odds," Fortin said. "You never know what they're going to send your way."

Until now, tow truck operators have towed the abandoned cars and struggled to track down owners. When they couldn't, they've written letter after letter to the state for the titles to the vehicles so they could sell them or get rid of them. All the while, the cars have sat on their lots, often for months. For each abandoned vehicle that's not reclaimed, operators lose between $550 and $650, Fortin calculates.

Even if tow truck operators use the new law to sell the personal belongings they find in abandoned cars, they'll be lucky to recover 20 percent of the cost of their disposal, Fortin said.

"We just hope it's going to motivate more people to take responsibility for their cars," he said.

Under the new law, delinquent drivers could lose more than just their stuff. If they refuse to pay a court-ordered fee for abandoning the vehicle, they will have their licenses suspended.

The legislation, introduced by House Transportation Chairman Sherman Packard, a Republican from Londonderry, passed through both the House and Senate with overwhelming approval, according to Russell MacCleery, a lobbyist for the New Hampshire Towing Association and the Auto and Truck Recyclers Association of New Hampshire.

George Antoine, owner of D & V Towing in Concord, hopes that penalty will give teeth to the state's laws against car abandonment. His business deals with abandoned cars daily, he said. He's long had a policy that if car owners who refuse their bills want their belongings back, they've got to buy them. Even so, some leave their cars all the same, he said.

Now, Antoine is considering holding a yard sale to get rid of the trailer full of belongings he's collected.

"Some people don't even come back," he said. (Sydney B. Leavens - Concord Monitor)

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CALIFORNIA -- Two California Highway Patrol officers and Humboldt Towing of Eureka appear to have been cleared of negligence allegations stemming from an April 2001 truck accident on U.S. Highway 101 near Stone Lagoon.

Last week Humboldt County Superior Court Judge J. Michael Brown threw out a lawsuit against the officers and towing company. The suit was filed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance on behalf of McMurray & Sons, a Eureka roofing contractor.

In April 2001, a McMurray & Sons truck driver was driving along Highway 101 near Humboldt Lagoons State Park and lost control of the truck. The truck flipped over and crashed. According to court documents, between 40 and 60 gallons of diesel fuel and an unknown amount of hydraulic fluid leaked from the overturned truck into the soil and into nearby Stone Lagoon.

Nationwide Insurance spent roughly $300,000 cleaning up the spill. The company sued CHP and Humboldt Towing, alleging gross negligence and bad faith on the part of the two CHP officers and tow truck driver who responded to the accident. The insurance company was seeking to recoup the clean-up costs.

Under Health and Safety Code 25400, people who assist in cleaning up hazardous spills are immune from liability unless gross negligence or bad faith is proven.

Brown agreed with the defendants that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that the CHP officers or the towing company acted in such a manner.

Karen Uno, a San Francisco Bay area attorney representing the insurance company, declined to discuss the case.

But Joseph C. Howard Jr., a Redwood City attorney representing the towing company, said Friday that the insurance company's attorney is filing a motion to have the judge reconsider the motion. (James Tressler - The Times-Standard)

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WASHINGTON -- It took a group of Marysville firefighters and a tow truck to rescue a retired racehorse that wandered into the wrong pasture, slipped into a drainage ditch and was stuck overnight.

"Grandpa," at least 25 years old and a recent arrival at Biringer Farm, somehow fell into a ditch about six feet deep with a foot and a half of water and two feet of mud on Sunday, horse owner Susan Taylor said.

The horse, acquired by Taylor three months ago, is used to give rides to children two days a week at the farm, which features you-pick berries, pumpkins and other crops about 30 miles north of Seattle.

"He just kind of wandered off and was looking around. He likes the other horses, but he's really people-oriented," Taylor said. "The mud was almost like quicksand that held him in. The sides were so steep he couldn't get his footing to get out."

Grandpa, discovered chest-deep in the mud Monday morning, was too tired from struggling to put up any fuss when rescuers arrived.

Firefighters eased a net under the 1,100-pound horse and hooked it up to a towtruck with a municipal boom truck on hand as well.

"While we were hooking him up, he just laid his head down and looked like he trusted everybody," Specialty Towing owner Brad Wall said.

The horse was gingerly lifted into the air and set down in the pasture. He appeared to falter at first but then regained his footing after being given some sugar water. (Thanks Mark)

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