ILLINOIS -- The all-new Power Stroke® Diesel engine, designed and manufactured by International Truck and Engine Corporation exclusively for Ford Motor Company, was named one of 2003’s “10 Best” engines by Ward’s AutoWorld, a premier automotive industry magazine.

The new Power Stroke Diesel engine is available on Ford F-250 through Ford F-550 Super Duty pickups and chassis cabs, as well as the Ford Excursion. Mated with a new TorqShift® 5-speed automatic transmission from Ford, the new 32-valve diesel engine produces best-in-class horsepower of 325 at 3,300 rpm and 560 foot-pounds of torque at 2,000 rpm.

“The new Power Stroke Diesel is a major step forward in diesel technology for our recreational and commercial truck customers,” said Dick Fotsch, president, Engine Group, International Truck and Engine Corporation. “Power Stroke Diesel is a proven engine brand for hauling heavy loads and towing boats, RVs and trailers, all while maximizing fuel economy and providing clean air solutions. We are extremely proud that International and Ford have won this prestigious award.”

“Ward’s 10 Best is the top award in the industry recognizing engines,” added Dave Szczupak, vice president, Powertrain Operations, Ford Motor Company. “To be the only diesel chosen by Ward’s, in a year with such tough competition, makes this award even more special.”

The award, given annually by Ward’s, is decided by a panel of jurors from the magazine who select the engines they consider to be the “10 Best” engines in the industry – based on test-drive evaluations.

“The new Power Stroke is a remarkable convergence of state-of-the-art turbo-diesel technology,” said Bill Visnic, senior technical editor, Ward’s AutoWorld, and editor of Ward’s Engine Update. “The fact that an engine designed for the medium-duty pickup segment can be a Ward’s 10 Best Engine winner – alongside some of the world’s most sophisticated and refined passenger-vehicle engines – speaks volumes about the intense engineering that’s gone into the all-new Power Stroke.”

Visnic added that Ward’s testers found it significant that the new Power Stroke® Diesel provides class-leading horsepower and torque figures despite a 1.3-liter displacement reduction compared to the previous-generation Power Stroke Diesel. He said the six editor-judges were particularly impressed that the new Power Stroke Diesel’s outstanding performance is achieved while simultaneously improving fuel economy and reducing NOx emissions.

Ford sells more Power Stroke Diesel engines than Dodge and GM combined. Two of out every three F-Series Super Duty trucks sold are equipped with a Power Stroke Diesel engine. Since August, Ford has received more than 50,000 orders for vehicles equipped with the new engine.

The new diesel engine is more powerful and cleaner than the well-respected original Power Stroke Diesel it replaces, achieving approximately 8 percent better fuel economy while satisfying more stringent emissions requirements. The new engine reduces emission of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) by over 20 percent, while providing customers reduced noise and vibration.

The new Power Stroke® Diesel is matched with the new TorqShift 5-speed automatic transmission that sets a new benchmark in responsiveness and confidence. TorqShift features a newly designed 5-speed gearbox and electronic control system to provide smoother shifts and higher low-gear ratios to help a loaded truck get off the mark smoothly. The transmission also features a “tow-haul” mode that automatically minimizes shifts and maximizes available torque to help increase a driver’s feeling of control.

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It took several weeks for a general strike in Venezuela to affect the U.S. diesel market, but the political struggle in the U.S.’s fourth largest supplier of oil has sent the cost of diesel skyward.

Now tow operators are paying the price, as much as $1.60 at some California stations.

Towers, who paid on average $1.40 two weeks ago, are paying 9 cents more per gallon. They can thank Venezuelans, who effectively shut off the pumps the first week of December.

The U.S. imports more than 10 percent of its oil from the South American country. Analysts with the U.S. Department of Energy say the impact of the shutdown has been muted by imports from other countries and a delay in shipping time. The agency expects further impacts in the next few weeks.

For the week ending Dec. 30, the average price of a gallon of diesel closed up 5.1 cents to $1.491. That’s the largest one-week swing in prices in more than a year. The national average is more than 30 cents higher than a year ago.

The largest increases came in the Southern and Gulf Coast States, where most Venezuelan oil is delivered. The Lower Atlantic region saw prices soar as much as 7 cents. Prices remain highest on the West Coast.

To check the diesel prices in your area, go to www.itow.org/fuel.htm.

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GEORGIA -- State lawmakers have passed a law that would prevent property owners from impounding abandoned cars that belong to drunks.

The law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, would allow a drunk person to leave their vehicle on private property within 500 feet of any establishment that serves alcohol, until noon the next day, without risk of impound.

While the law does allow the property owner levy a $25 charge against the vehicles owner, it includes no language to guarantee payment, which means property owners will most likely go unpaid.

The law has incredible potential for abuse. Basically, every business within 500 feet of a bar or restaurant will no longer be able to impound vehicles that ignore signs and 

Owners of leased parking businesses will suffer the most when their customers arrive in the morning to find their leased parking spot taken. This law most certainly means financial loss for local businesses.

The idea behind this law, keeping drunks off the highway, is solid, but the method it uses is not fair to the private property owners and businesses that must make money to survive.

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PENNSYLVANIA -- A tow-truck driver from Maryland was killed in a crash in Interstate 83 in York County Monday afternoon.

Part of the road was shut down after the accident, slowing traffic, but the road has since reopened.

Witnesses said the tow-truck driver, Daryl Everett Turner, of Baltimore, Md., was driving erratically before rear-ending a tractor-trailer and crashing through a concrete barrier.

Turner was ejected from the vehicle and killed.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not seriously injured. State police said speed was a factor in the crash. (thewbalchannel.com)

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CALIFORNIA -- The owner of a Fontana-based tow truck company will be arraigned Friday on charges he extorted his customers and falsified documents to the DMV.

DMV investigators allege that Thomas McGraw, and others within his organization, falsified lien sale documents before they submitted them to the DMV.

The DMV conducted an investigation with the San Bernardino Police Department into Elite Towing's practices, but until now had not issued a statement on the subject.

McGraw has been named along with Sherry Veteto and Bettina Kalberg, who are described as corporate officers in the company, according to the information released by the DMV. In addition, Elite Towing's agent, San River Transport, also has been named in the complaint.

Ronald Kipper with San River Transport is scheduled to be arraigned on the same day.

DMV investigators have accused McGraw, Veteto and Kalberg of falsifying information on lien sale documents, which are normally used by businesses to recover money for an unpaid bill for towing, storage or repair. Individuals are allowed to conduct so-called lien sales when a vehicle has been abandoned on property they own. Kipper allegedly failed to disclose the correct amount lien vehicles were sold for to the DMV.

McGraw was scheduled to be arraigned last week in San Bernardino Superior Court, but his attorney Jonathan Rivers arranged for the hearing to be postponed until Friday.

Rivers, who works in Newport Beach, could not be reached this week for comment.

Rivers said last week he planned to challenge the complaint on the basis that the statute of limitations had run out on at least one count against his client.

Investigators at DMV conducted a six-month investigation into the company prior to filing the charges with the district attorney.

The DMV's Steven Gourley said registered lien holders and new buyers of vehicles are being targeted in some cases by towing companies with unscrupulous business practices. The investigation and subsequent felony complaint is an effort to combat these kinds of practices, he said in a press release.

"This case will send a message to other tow companies who abuse the lien process,' Gourley said.

If convicted, the four defendants could be sent to jail for one to five years.

San Bernardino County prosecutors filed a 20-count criminal complaint against McGraw and six other men in November. Inland Protective Services, a San Bernardino-based security company was also named at the time in a separate complaint. (Jannise Johnson - Daily Bulletin)

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CANADA -- The two men were on their way to their next towing job about 10 p.m. Wednesday, a tractor trailer broken down near Brockville Ontario.

A bend in the road later, they were wrenching a woman from a flaming car while licks of fire shot from beneath its hood and up the windshield. Their routine evening had changed to high drama, and at the end of it, they were being acclaimed for their bravery.

Onne van Hoek, 53, and his nephew Rob Smith, 21, didn’t pause to think that the car in the ditch could have blown up at any time. They just dove in, and saved the life of 26-year-old Crystal Miedema of Brockville.

By chance, they were the first to arrive on the scene of an accident on Second Concession Road near County Road 15, about halfway between Prescott and Brockville and next to a Highway 401 on-ramp.

Prescott OPP said Mallorytown resident Michael Lamothe, 31, had lost control of his 1999 Oldsmobile Alero while taking a curve. His car swung into the opposing lane, collided with an oncoming vehicle – injuring two others – and was thrown into a ditch. He died on impact. In the passenger seat, under his slumped body, lay the semi-conscious Miedema.

The second vehicle, a red Mazda, idled in mid-road as if stunned.

“I’ve been towing for 31 years,” said van Hoek. “But this one was bad.”

Van Hoek and Smith, seeing the Mazda’s passengers alive, focused on the white Alero smoking in the ditch.

“There was no movement in there,” van Hoek said. “It was sitting there steaming and carrying on. The smoke was coming out from under the hood and the first thing you figure is – it’s gonna go up into flame.”

Dashing to the ditch, Smith yelled into the car to rouse the man lying over the passenger seat – to no avail.
Only then did he see a woman beneath Lamothe’s lifeless body.

“We didn’t realize she was there until we heard her moaning,” said van Hoek.

The car was badly mangled, the doors folded in like tin foil.

“He couldn’t get it open normally – he literally grabbed the top of the door and tore it open,” van Hoek said of his nephew.

Then the smoke spewing from under the car’s hood turned red: “It was just smoking when we got there. But while we were trying to help the people, she caught fire. The flames were coming up under the hood and onto the windshield.”

Miedema lay trapped beneath Lamothe’s body, his legs tangled amidst the buckled metal of the door and dashboard. Van Hoek thrust his arms through the driver’s-side window and pulled Lamothe’s body away from Miedema, allowing his nephew to wrench the woman to safety.

“He just laid her down in the ditch and he took his sweaters and stuff off and wrapped her up in it until the ambulance got there,” said van Hoek.

With Miedema safe, van Hoek ran to the fire extinguisher in his truck, dousing the flames still licking the vehicle.

“By that time the ambulance arrived and then shortly after that the fire department came – so they sort of took over from there. But I’m sure if we hadn’t been there, that car would have just gone right up in flames.”

Both van Hoek and Smith reject the notion that they’re heroes.

“I don’t really want to get into a real big thing over this,” van Hoek said. “What we did was basically an instinct thing. It wasn’t anything heroic as far as I’m concerned. It was just something that we did.”

Smith agreed: “I think anyone else would have stopped and done it. If we hadn’t been there, someone else would have been there to do it.”

That’s the nature of heroism, Smith suggested: “I didn’t think I’d really know what to do if I was in that situation. But it just kind of happened. You know what to do.”

After police completed their investigation of the scene, van Hoek and Smith towed both cars involved to their Augusta tow-yard. They never made the Brockville job.

Miedema suffered several broken ribs and a fractured pelvis, amongst other injuries, said her father-in-law, Archie Miedema. She has been transferred to Kingston General Hospital.

“She is in an awful lot of pain,” he said.

But Miedema knows his daughter-in-law owes her life to two men who were on their way to tow a tractor trailer.

“I believe that’s true, praise God for that. And for the bravery and quick thinking of the men that pulled Crystal out of that car.” (Kingston Whig)

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MAINE -- A Waterville tow truck driver who hauled away a minivan with a 13-month-old baby inside has been cleared of wrongdoing by Waterville police.

Deputy Police Chief Joseph Massey says he has received assurances that Interstate Towing Company has a strict policy against towing vehicles with pets or people. Drivers have been told to be extra vigilant.

Tuesday night, an Interstate driver towed a van with the baby inside from a fire zone in front of a bookstore. The driver said he didn't see the sleeping tot because it was dark and the van's windows were tinted.

Now that the review has been completed, the city has reinstated its contract with the towing company.

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FLORIDA -- Davie's Town Council members Tuesday listened to presentations from five towing companies looking to win the town's five-year towing contract, but the council won't make a decision until next week.

The companies -- Bob's Towing, EMS Towing, HTS Towing, A & B Towing, and A Superior Towing -- brought their attorneys and owners to Town Hall in order to get the highly lucrative business. Toucan Recovery submitted a bid but did not show up at the meeting.

A & B Towing holds the current franchise, paying $137,000 a year for the privilege of towing cars for the town -- usually the police department. The winning company plans to recoup that money by charging fees for towing, storage and related services. Charges will be set by the town.

Almost all of the bid amounts are higher than what A & B pays -- Bob's Towing bid $193,000; EMS Towing, $187,000; HTS Towing, $176,100; Toucan Recovery, $150,000 and A Superior Towing, $50,000. A & B Towing bid $155,000 -- plus additional income if business exceeds 1,700 tows per year -- to retain the contract.

The majority of the tows will be for Davie police, which logged an estimated 1,600 tows last year.

Council members questioned the number of complaints companies had against them.

Four of the six towing companies involved in the bidding have had some complaints filed against them with the Broward County Consumer Affairs Division.

A Superior Towing and the absent Toucan Recovery didn't have any recent complaints, according to the division. Bob's Towing had five complaints over the past three and a half years. EMS and A & B Towing had two each.

HTS Towing had 16 complaints this year. All Points Towing, HTS' sister company, had 118 complaints logged against it since Jan. 1, according to county records. HTS and All Points Towing have the same owners but different management, said Mike Partin, HTS Towing vice president.

All Points Towing and HTS are involved in litigation with the Broward County Consumer Affairs Division regarding overcharging, said Assistant County Attorney James Saunders. Partin claims HTS is not involved in the lawsuit.

According to a town memo, Davie sued Bob's Towing when the company, which held the towing contract at the time, failed to pay its final quarterly franchise fee. The town prevailed and received the money.

Two companies -- EMS and Toucan -- did not meet the town's bid specifications, said Herb Hyman, Davie's procurement manager.

He wrote a memo recommending that A & B get the contract. But the Town Council has the final say.

Council members are scheduled to vote on their choice at the Dec. 18 meeting. (Thanks Kevin)

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GEORGIA -- The 12 Gainesville tow operators who tow for the city will get their first raise in four years when the city amends it's towing ordinance.

Acting on complaints and recommendations from local tow operators, the council has made some positive changes to the city's towing ordinance.

Towing fees will increase from $60 to $75, and accident fees will increase from $100 to $167 which will put the city's fees inline with the county's fees.

Tow companies will also serve a two-week rotation instead of a month, which will be easier for companies to manage.

The city also promises to inspect each company at the start of their rotation in order to more closely monitor the companies.

If the council approves the new ordinance, the changes will take affect in February of 2003.

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NEW JERSEY -- An Oxford Township man died as his family said he lived -- helping out a person in need.

The 53-year-old good Samaritan was trying to help a man injured in a one-car crash Saturday night when a tow truck struck and killed him.

State police at Washington said Barry Bogerman of the 500 block of Mt. Bethel Road was killed at 8:42 p.m. on southbound Route 519 when a tow truck struck him near the scene of another wreck. Bogerman was trying to assist a motorist, Jorge Colorado of Delaware Drive, Easton, after Colorado struck a pole in an attempt to avoid a deer, according to police.

Police said Bogerman and Colorado were in the road shortly after the initial crash when the tow truck, a 1985 Chevrolet driven by Eben Campbell of the 500 block of Brass Castle Road, White Township, struck Colorado's car and Bogerman.

Bogerman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Police said he suffered multiple, severe blunt force trauma from the impact.

Police said Colorado, who narrowly avoided the oncoming truck, was taken to Warren Hospital where he was treated and released Saturday. Campbell was not injured in the crash.

Campbell has not been charged, though an investigation is ongoing, according to police. (Brian Shappell - The Express Times)

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UNITED KINGDOM -- After exhaustive work during the summer by the show committee, the European Tow Show is up and running.

After meetings with all major associations representing the industry it was agreed that the way forward for the industry was to show a united front and try initially on a 'one off' basis, a show that represented REM SA, IVR, RRRA LARO and AVRO. A committee was formed with representatives from all the associations who chose from within a show committee. This committee has taken on board all association requests and moulded them into a show that should meet the entire industries requirements.

The European Tow Show will take place at Donington Park Race Way on 17, 18, and 19 July 2003. This is seen as a natural development, the show team considered it to be a bold and ambitious step. It has to be the best way forward as the European Union will have a large impact on both our private and business environments.

Donington was chosen from several possible venues because its facilities covered all show and industry requirements. The undercover facilities were very attractive to the show team, who of course has no control over the weather. Cost also was a major consideration, the NEC was one of the many other venues considered but was rejected on prohibitive costing grounds.

Hotel accommodation is approximately a 3-minute drive away with overflow accommodation within 6 minutes; an area has been put aside for people wishing to bring caravans and motor homes.

Exhibition packs and booking forms will be available within the next few weeks. The show team emphasize that orders for space will be taken on a strictly first come first served basis. A meeting will be arranged for January where potential exhibitors can choose any favourable positions.

Business seminars and evening functions along with a host of different other attractions will be announced shortly making for a complete 3 day event. For more information email mail@towshow.co.uk.

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WASHINGTON -- The Washington State Patrol can't impound vehicles driven by people with suspended licenses without considering other factors, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision will likely echo in cities and counties across the state that have similar impound policies.

In a 5-to-4 ruling, the justices found that the rule went beyond a state law designed to keep dangerous drivers off the road because it didn't give individual troopers the option not to impound vehicles if there's a reasonable alternative.

"The State Patrol's regulation is invalid because it exceeds the statutory authority," Justice Richard Sanders wrote in the 5-4 decision. "While the statute permits vehicle impoundments at the discretion of the officer at the scene (the regulation) requires troopers to impound regardless of the circumstances."

One of the cases in question involved a business, All American Underground, that had its truck impounded because a worker was driving with a suspended license - even though the owner of the business was available to take possession of the truck.

That caused the business owner to lose the use of his truck, tools and materials for several days, in addition to the cost of getting the vehicle out of impound.

The court stopped short of tossing out the impound law as unconstitutional, the principal goal of Rhys Sterling, All America Underground's attorney.

"The citizens of the state won a victory today," Sterling said. The state will not be able to seize a vehicle "when a reasonable alternative exists," he said.

The court didn't lay out a specific test for when impounding vehicles was appropriate, Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton said.

"We're going to sit down and talk to the patrol about what it means," Dalton said.

Four justices opposed Sanders' ruling, arguing that the court was usurping the Legislature's power.

"If the Legislature mistakenly vests an agency with the power to limit its agents' discretion, that is an excess for the Legislature to fix, not the courts," Justice Charles Johnson wrote for the dissent. "While the State Patrol's blanket rule of mandatory impoundment may be harsh, and even ill advised, that does not mean that the Legislature did not grant it the power to make the rule in the first place."

Nine cases involving impoundment of vehicles by troopers are pending in lower courts, Dalton said. In eight of those, judges have ruled that the impoundment wasn't proper. Dalton said she didn't know how many cases involving vehicles impounded by other law enforcement agencies were pending.

The mandatory impound rule has drawn sharp criticism in some quarters for several reasons, including its tendency to impound vehicles driven by people who don't own them.

"We don't think that's fair and we think it's contrary to the state constitution," said Doug Honig, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

The rule also tended to impose a steep punishment for a relatively minor offense. For example, a driver's license can be suspended for nonpayment of parking tickets. If the driver is stopped, his vehicle is impounded. If the owner cannot pay the impound fees, the vehicle is eventually sold, leaving the owner without transportation.

"Is it fair for the government to seize your property just like that, no ifs, ands or buts?" Sterling asked? (Paul Queary - Associated Press)

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INDIANA -- Sources say Marion County Sheriff Jack Cottey was in the Columbia Club on Monument Circle. His 2002 unmarked, white Chevy Trailblazer parked outside illegally, violating a no-parking after 9-pm ordinance on Monument Circle.

I-P-D officer David Roth, following department procedure, ordered the vehicle, registered to a leasing company, towed. A short time later, Sheriff Cottey, discovering his vehicle had been towed, called the 9-1-1 dispatch center. This is a transcript of that conversation.

Cottey: "This is the sheriff, how you doing"
Dispatcher: "Fine sir and yourself"
Cottey: "Did Montsinger call you guys about having the goofy David Roth call me"
Dispatcher: " I think Bobby talked to him, hang on let me check sir".
Cottey: "You tell that....somebody tell that son of a **** to call me".

A few seconds later
Cottey: "You tell that David Roth...to hang over...hang on to his ass the day he leaves his home until I leave...till I leave office"

After placing the call threatening officer Roth, Sheriff Jack Cottey arrived after 10pm Wednesday night at the Last Chance wrecker, which was keeping his towed Chevy Trailblazer.

"He was quite angry", says wrecker owner Jim Edsall, "he wanted his vehicle right then and there."

While Sheriff Cottey was inside the towing company office, he, like all other customer, was being recorded on videotape. His behavior, say employees, was deplorable.

"Absolutely not professional". says Edsall, "from that point on, I'd rather not make any comments on his conduct."

Cottey issued a statement to Eyewitness News saying, quote,"I regret anything, anything I might have said or done to offend others involved in the matter."

Responding to the sheriff's threats and outburst against officer Roth, an I-P-D spokesman said quote, "Our officer did nothing wrong."

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NEW JERSEY -- A New Egypt man was killed in a five-car accident, involving a tow truck, on Route 206 in Springfield Township, police reported.

Anthony L. Bauer, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene after his 1991 Subaru, traveling northbound, drifted into oncoming traffic and was hit head on by a tow truck at 6:19 p.m. The impact spun the car around until it stopped in the northbound lanes of the road. Mr. Bauer was ejected from the vehicle, as he was not wearing his seat belt, police said.

The reason for the accident is not yet known and an investigation is continuing, Sgt. Gerald Lewis of the New Jersey State Police said this week.

The driver of the tow truck, Christopher R. Clifford, 36, of Tabernacle, was also injured in the collision and was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.

According to Sgt. Lewis, three other vehicles, all traveling northbound, were affected by the accident. Carlos Gonzales, 27, of Trenton, was traveling behind Mr. Bauer in his Honda Civic when he saw the accident and swerved to avoid it. The car that was beside Mr. Gonzales — a Dodge Caravan driven by Nikolai Melnikov, 55, of Jersey City — was then forced off the road. Mr. Melnikov's Caravan came to rest at the side of the road where it was struck by a dump truck driven by Mustafa Karaburk, 22, Bristol, Pa. The three drivers were not injured.

The road was shut down for four hours while crews from the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Burlington County Environmental Service cleaned a vehicle fuel spill resulting from the accident.

The Springfield Police Department, the Mansfield Township Fire Department and Springfield First Aid also responded to the accident.

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TEXAS -- Beaumont city officials have put their heads together and come up with a towing ordinance that damages towing companies and citizens equally.

The new ordinance would lower the maximum rate for non-consent police tows from $85 to an unusually low $65, and nearly halves the maximum drop fee from $45 to $25.

The cities current towing rotation would also be replaced with a low-bid contract.

The city is trying to sell this ordinance as a benefit to the citizens of Beaumont, but lowing rates and lowering the level of service will not benefit anyone.

Apparently the city is not concerned whether the contracted towing company is making money. Unfortunately, this usually translates to the towing company having to cut corners and subsequently provide poor service to the people of Beaumont.

When the city first brainstormed the plan to eliminate the rotation in June, local towing companies told the city that the idea would kill competition and put companies out of business. But those concerns were completely ignored.

Officials say the contracted company is welcome to subcontract with other towing companies, but would have to adhere to the ridiculously low contract price.

City officials expect that the actual rate for towing service will be well below the contracted rate because of the competitive bidding to win the contract.

City Council will vote on the ordinance in a week. If the council approves the ordinance, they will likely begin to accept bids in January.

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WASHINGTON -- A Seattle tow-truck driver put himself in the path of an oncoming car to try to prevent two women from getting hit.

Lincoln Towing driver David Kingsbury, 36, had just hooked up an illegally parked car to his truck Thursday night when Arwyn Kaminsky, 25, of Portland, Maine, and her friend Hannah Mueller, 21, of Chewelah approached him to ask him a question.

Kaminsky was standing partially in the road when Kingsbury said he saw a car headed toward them going about 30 or 35 mph. Kaminsky had her back to the car and didn't see it approaching.

"It was just a natural reaction to grab her and throw her out of the way," Kingsbury said. They tumbled to the ground together, and Kaminsky landed on top of him. The car knocked Mueller to the ground, sideswiped the car being towed and ran over Kingsbury's right ankle before continuing down the street.

Cab driver John La Fortune, 30, was driving behind the car, which he said had been swerving. After witnessing the accident, he followed the driver, who eventually stopped at a gas station and bought a bottle of water.

"He got back into his car and he's just relaxing, drinking some water," said La Fortune. "He had no clue."

La Fortune called his dispatcher to report the crash and then called 911 to tell police the location of the driver.

Police arrested Thomas S. Brook, 29, of Seattle and booked him into the King County Jail for investigation of hit-and-run and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, said police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette.

The two women, who were visiting Seattle, were treated at the scene for scrapes and pains. Kingsbury was treated for a broken ankle at Harborview Medical Center and released. (KOMO News)

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FLORIDA -- A Michigan man suspected of killing his girlfriend and kidnapping his son and daughter is now in custody thanks to a vigilant tow truck driver.

Detectives questioned Patrick Michael Gleeson, 48, about the missing children after his Saturday arrest in Daytona Beach, Fla., but Gleeson would not say where the children were, Ottawa County Sheriff Gary Rosema said.

Gleeson was found sleeping at the beach in his minivan after a tow truck driver recognized the vehicle from FBI public alerts and called authorities, said Daytona Beach police spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley.

Gleeson was being held without bond in the Volusia County Jail in DeLand, Fla. until he is sent to Michigan or Illinois, jail officials said. A booking supervisor said Gleeson was represented by an attorney from the Volusia County public defender's office, whose phone rang unanswered Sunday.

Gleeson was wanted on a Michigan charge of murder, a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and an Illinois warrant for child abduction.

Michigan police believe Gleeson fatally shot Dena Fuglseth, 43, then hid her body in a cellar in their home in Ottawa County's Park Township. Her body was found Nov. 29.

Gleeson and Fuglseth lived together in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, Ill., before moving in March to Park Township, just outside Holland in western Michigan.

Police said Gleeson failed to return his children to his ex-wife, Edna Smith of Dwight, Ill., who had legal custody of Ashley, 5, and Jordan, 3. The children's car seats were found at Gleeson and Fuglseth's home.

"Although it (the arrest) was good news ... our job is far from complete because the children have yet to be found," Dwight Police Chief Tim Henson said. (Thanks Tim)

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NEW JERSEY -- The Spotswood Borough Council is considering an ordinance that would raise the rates charged by towing companies for police ordered tows.

The old ordinance allowed towing companies to charge $50 during the day, and $60 at night. The new ordinance would raise those rates to $65 and $85 respectively.

The initial draft of this ordinance, rejected by the borough Council, would have raised the rates higher, and would have put the borough's tow rates more inline with other cities.. The original rates were $75 during the day and $100 at night.

Mayor Barry Zagnit said the borough decided to review the towing rates after local towing companies that do business with the borough submitted a written petition asking for an increase. The petition said Spotswood’s rates were not competitive with other towns’ rates.

Councilman Curtis Stollen said a police department study of rates paid by other towns concluded that Spotswood should indeed pay the $75/$100 rates asked for by the towing companies to be fair.

However, he said Spotswood's governing body ignored that conclusion.

Councilman Keenan suggested the $65/$85 towing rates included in the new ordinance, and he also opposed a $25 payment that towing companies wanted each time they clean an accident scene. His reasoning was that tow companies included cleanup in their regular rates in the past.

The Council discussed the possibility that the low rates may discourage towing companies from working for the borough, but Mayor Zagnit pointed out that out of 12 companies that tow for the borough, some are sure to work for the lower than average rates. 

He went on to say, even though the police department study showed otherwise, that the $75/$100 rates are "way out of line."

Council President Judith Ruffo said that if the borough winds up having a hard time attracting towing companies, because of the poor pay, it can always increase the rates.

The ordinance also allows a one-time $50 fee for winching, no matter how long it takes to perform. 

Oddly, the Mayor did support an increase in the storage fee. That would be raised from about $10 per day to $25 under the new ordinance.

The council has no plans to study the whether participating towing companies will lose money at the below average rates, or whether they will have to cut corners to provide service to the city.

A public hearing on the new ordinance is scheduled for Dec. 16.

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Cummins Inc. has made public a field test it has been conducting on its new engines for the Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Cummins has been doing "laps" around the United States in Cummins-powered Dodge Ram Heavy-Duty 2500 and 3500 series pickups since July. The laps are being used to field test the re-engineered Cummins Turbo Diesel engine and the Dodge Ram combination in extreme operating conditions "to ensure that reliability and durability are unmatched" in this vehicle class.

Each lap is about 9,000 miles and covers all types of road and weather conditions. Each truck pulls fully loaded trailers to increase the demands placed on the engines.

For testing purposes, the vehicles typically are operated with 90% load on the engine, which Cummins said is much greater than the demands of an average user.

Cummins has compiled more than a quarter-million miles of testing through this system.

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OHIO -- A local towing service last week asked Athens City Council to change the regulations for towing fees to match those of the state, which would raise the towing rates, from $50 to $90.

Attorney William Walker, representing Athens Towing and Recovery, Ohio Rt. 550, told City Council last week that under the current ordinance, his client is unable to make an acceptable living. The towing company last year spent almost $19,000 in gasoline, $19,000 in insurance, plus the cost of licensing fees, he said, while profiting only $10,000. As a private enterprise, Walker said, the towing business doesn't want to be regulated locally on what they can charge for services.

"You're a little more restrictive than the state, and it's hurting my client," Walker said. "He can operate under the state statute."

Councilmember Gary Van Meter said Monday that the state's maximum towing fee is $90, plus the possibility of add-on fees for extremely heavy vehicles. The maximum towing fee in Athens is $50, with other potential add-on charges, he said.

Bill Biddlestone, attorney in the city law director's office, pointed out that there are consensual tows and non-consensual tows. A consensual tow occurs when someone, for example, has a problem with his car and phones to have it towed for a repair. The owner or operator can negotiate the price with the recovery service. The state and/or municipalities are not authorized to regulate the fees for consensual tows, he said.

A non-consensual tow occurs when someone parks in a restricted spot or area, such as a handicapped spot or a private lot, and then has his or her car towed, Biddlestone said. In these cases, he said, state and municipalities are authorized to regulate fees.

However, the question arises: if someone parks in a private lot despite the fact that it has a posted sign that warns of possible towing, is that person then giving implied consent? Athens Towing and Recovery argues that if the driver knows he or she is parking in a place where he or she is aware that the car can be towed, then the driver is giving implied consent to be towed, Biddlestone said. If that's the case, then the state and municipalities cannot regulate the fees for towing service, he said.

The state statute says if a person parks in a private tow zone, then that person "shall be deemed to have consented" to being towed, Biddlestone said.

The state and municipalities would not be able regulate this consensual tow. The city's ordinance does regulate such tows, however, which could be a violation subject to lawsuits, he said.

The question then becomes, does the city of Athens want to risk being sued and defend its current regulations by arguing that these towing situations are non-consensual?

"I don't want to make a direct recommendation on it... but right now litigation is being threatened," Biddlestone said.

Van Meter said council can either eliminate the ordinance and just use the Ohio Revised Code, or change the ordinance to match the state statute.

"We are waiting on the recommendation from the (law) director's office," Van Meter said. "If we don't change the ordinance in some way, the city might be subject to lawsuits."

Walker said that representatives of Athens Towing and Recovery have asked him to review the issue, but he would not say whether they're considering legal action. "I would have to meet with them about that," he said.

Council should have a recommendation from the law director's office this week.

Biddlestone said that private tow zone fees could go up to $90 if council opts to discard its ordinance or if it decides to use the state statute. Tows from public parking spaces, including handicapped spots and cars that park over their time limit, would stay at $50, he said.

When apprised of the predicament last week, council members seemed in no hurry to raise the towing rates.

Evan though tow operators are losing ,money at the current rate, Councilmember Carol Patterson noted, "It hurts our consumers." to raise towing rates.

Van Meter said the issue is something council will have to "mull over." On Monday, Van Meter confirmed, "It's not a popular idea on council. I don't think any of us wants to raise the rate." (Thanks Luke)

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OHIO -- Police confiscated about $900,000 in cash Thursday in what officials are calling the biggest drug bust in the history of Delaware County Ohio.

Police arrested Victor Centers, 45, owner of Vic's Towing of Ashley, after serving him with search warrants. Charges are pending, Headrick reported.

"He's a major distributor in the United States," Delaware County Sheriff Al Myers said. "He is not a mule. He is probably not working for anybody else."

Police said they found 3 ounces of marijuana as well as cash, several guns, three cars, three all-terrain vehicles, a boat and a flatbed tow truck that belonging to Vic's Towing. Police said Centers made about $20,000 a year through his towing business.

The investigation started in August after $200,000 was found in a car driven by a woman after a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Arkansas, Headrick reported. The car belonged to Centers, Headrick reported.

Police said the woman was a drug courier who was taking money to Centers. (Thanks Luke)

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NEW YORK -- Towing services in the city of New Paltz soon may need to follow a specific set of guidelines because the town board is putting finishing touches on a new law that would regulate which tow company responds to a disabled vehicle, how fast it should get there and how much it can charge.

''We always wanted a towing law,'' Town Supervisor Don Wilen said. ''Other communities have them. It has been on the docket for years.''

Welcoming the legislation, principals of one local towing company suggested the board refine provisions for big towing jobs such as pulling a vehicle up a cliff.

''We've had trucks in ponds, underwater,'' Gary Gulino, of Action Towing, said. He recommended the law allow heftier fees for those situations.

The proposed law stipulates a fee of $65 per hour for such ''recovery'' jobs. Wilen said ''hour'' means hour per person. The board agreed to check further into the law's language before voting.

The legislative proposal provides a hierarchy for which company responds. The first priority is addressing ''emergency needs at the towing scene.'' The second is meeting the owner's request. The third is following a rotation of officially approved tow companies kept by town police.

New Paltz resident Stewart Glenn wondered what constitutes an emergency.

''Is there going to be an opportunity ... to have your own people?'' he asked the board during a recent public hearing. ''I'm just hoping that's the philosophical position of the board.''

Wilen assured him it is. He said it likely will be up to the town's police commission to make sure patrol officers act appropriately.

The board plans to pass some version of the law before the new year.

The ''declaration of purpose'' reads ''it is of vital importance to the traveling public that disabled vehicles be removed from the highways as soon as possible ... delay in removal results in restricting the movement of traffic unnecessarily and causes street accidents.''

Toward that end, all New Paltz towing companies must be available at every hour of every day, the law reads. They will be allowed 10 rings to answer the phone.

They also must ''be capable of a 20-minute response time'' and maintain a $1 million insurance policy.

Impound yards should be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the proposal. The board agreed to consider 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. after Gulino said that's what the public seems to want.

The maximum fees proposed under the towing law being considered by the New Paltz town board are Towing: $135, Cleanup and disposal: $45, Recovery: $65 per hour, Storage: $44 per day, Mileage: $3 per mile. (Gabriel J. Wasserman - Poughkeepsie Journal)

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CANADA --Imagine losing an opportunity to win $187,500, then winning exactly that amount three months later. That's what happened to Jim Haskell, a 36-year-old tow truck driver, of Chatham Ontario.

Haskell lost his chance for a $187,500 score at the Windsor Casino when he got up from a slot machine he had been playing and the next person won.

Last week, Haskell's wife Lisa, 32, bought an Encore ticket and won $250,000. Jim and his uncle, Keith McGonigle, agreed they'd always split a lottery jackpot.

Lisa split the win with her husband and he split his half with his uncle -- $187,500 for the Haskells and $62,500 to McGonigle, 46, and his wife, Tammy, 45. (London Free Press)

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NORTH CAROLINA -- Citizens who parked illegally and had their cars impounded, have complained to the city of Durham enough to prompt them to set a $125 limit Monday on non-consent towing fees within the city limits.

The council started discussing the towing issue last year after the parking scofflaws complained they were being charged to much to retrieve cars.

The cars were towed for being improperly parked on private property that was clearly marked with no-parking signs.

Some citizens believe it is fine to park their vehicle on anyone's property as long as the lot is empty or the business closed, and when the tow truck hauls the offending trespassers cars away, as the property owner has requested and clearly posted , they accuse the tow truck of "lurking" and "pouncing" on innocent victims.

The victim here is actually the property owner who suffers vandalism, littering, lose of space for his actual customers, and the towing company who endures complaints from the inconsiderate, law breaking motorist who thinks they have the right to park anywhere, anytime. 

The city has long used a fee scale for police-initiated tows, such as for wrecks or impounds. Those rates had been $70 for daytime tows and $80 for nighttime tows before being raised to a $125 maximum last year.

How the city arrived at the $125 rate is unknown, since no official cost study was ever performed.

The council’s Monday vote sets the same maximum rate for "non-consensual" tows. It also sets a maximum vehicle storage fee of $25 per day.

In the cities own unique interpretation of federal law, they believe they can regulate a federally deregulated industry because towing is detrimental to the "health, safety or welfare of the citizens."

Under the new ordinance, tow truck operators can be fined $200 for violating the rules and $400 for a second offense.

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WISCONSIN -- Lisa Heimbruch of New London was puzzled by the letter she received in late October from the local supermarket.

The letter stated that two payroll checks from her and her husband’s towing business totaling $574 had bounced, and they now owed the store that amount plus fees.

“We are just a small business and we don’t have any employees,” said Heimbruch. “We don’t even have a business checking account. We just use our personal checking account.”

The Heimbruchs and the local store were victimized by what is an increasingly sophisticated criminal enterprise — business identity theft — using the names of existing business and crafting convincing-looking business payroll checks.

“The checks looked more real than my own payroll check,” said Heimbruch.

Using readily available computer technology, scam artists will use the phone book to obtain the name of a local business and make up payroll checks, complete with account numbers.

The real victims are the businesses that cash the phony checks — usually supermarkets.

“They will call the stores and ask about their check-cashing policy and what their limits are, find a business in or near that town and create their own photo ID card to show they worked for that business and even generate a legitimate-looking driver’s license number using the proper code numbers,” said New London Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson.

The check-writers often work in pairs. The pair which victimized the Festival Foods Store in New London called the store to find out its check-cashing policy and limits ($300) and made two visits with checks of $287, which were cashed.

However, after the scam was realized, phone records traced the call to a cell phone number and led to the arrests of Julie and Dennis Mischler of Manitowoc, who are now charged in Outagamie County Circuit Court with 11 counts of forgery.

According to the criminal complaint, the two admitted to making as much as $25,000 on phony business checks cashed around the state in the past eight months.

Wilkinson said the full extent of the scam isn’t known because the victims — the retailers — don’t realize at first they are the victims of a crime instead treating the incident as just a bounced check and turning it over for collection. Weeks may have passed by the time it is discovered to be a counterfeit check.

Wilkinson said one couple police are seeking have been nicknamed the “medical team” or “the scrubs” because of their habit of wearing medical scrubs and cashing phony payroll checks with the names of medical-related business. They have been caught on videotape on store surveillance cameras around the state but remain at large.

“They have hit Plymouth, Ripon, Eau Claire, Manitowoc, Racine, Sheboygan and Shawano, that we know of so far,” said Wilkinson.

Former Freedom resident Terry Gerrits is the co-owner of Asset Protection and Recovery Solutions of Sun Prairie, a firm which aids retailers in recovering lost or stolen money.

“Many of our grocers are like community banks for customers who don’t have a bank,” said Gerrits.

“What we recommend is that stores establish a local list of authorized businesses from whom they will accept payroll checks and have an image of a real check on hand from that business to be used to authenticate it.

“And, to stop taking checks on businesses you don’t even know,” he said. “If they want to continue to accept payroll checks then they are going to have to accept some control point.” (Dan Wilson - Post-Crescent)

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RHODE ISLAND -- Woonsocket Tow truck operator Jim Dumas calls it "the luck of the draw." But lately it’s nothing but bad luck.

One of six tow operators who take turns answering calls to tow vehicles for the city, Dumas, of Christy’s Towing, 1265 Mendon Road, knows he’s going to catch an abandoned car every so often. He ends up assuming the cost of storing the vehicle, because there’s nobody to bill.

But lately a new factor is turning the math of the tow business more sinister. And city officials say it’s also making a mess of city streets. It’s the demand for scrap metal. There is none, says Dumas.

The bottomless market for scrap metal has driven down the worth of junk cars so far that junkyards don’t want to pay tow truck operators - or anyone else - to bring them in. Trouble is, the tow operators, says Dumas, are the guys "at the bottom of the food chain." They get called to pick up the junk, and under state law, they can’t say no.

"It used to be you could get $75 for a junk car from a salvage yard," says Dumas. "But I haven’t been paid for a scrap car in over two years."

While that late-night telephone call from the police to tow a junk, abandoned car used to come only occasionally, the depression in the market for scrap metal has made it increasingly likely that the calls he gets these days will be for a junk car, says Dumas.

"Last week I got four calls for junk cars," he said.

City Councilman Normand J. Laliberte says the abysmal scrap metal market isn’t just an economic issue affecting the livelihood of the tow companies. More than ever, abandoned cars are showing up in all parts of the city because there isn’t any money in bringing them to a junkyard. If there were, the cars would never see the curl of a tow hook - somebody else would cash them in first. But that’s not happening anymore.

Laliberte said he suspects that landlords get stuck with the cars when their tenants move out. In low-income areas, said Laliberte, people often buy "throwaway" cars for $50 or $100, driving them until they die and leaving them.

"There are some unscrupulous landlords, when no one’s looking, they’ll push these cars off their property, then they’re not responsible anymore," said Laliberte. "They push them into the street, call the police and say they’re abandoned. That’s where we find a lot of these cars, right in the street."

The situation is creating tension between the tow companies and city officials because the tow operators are getting tired of bearing the cost of storing ownerless junks and bringing them to a scrap yard. The City Council held a meeting with the tow operators last week to air their concerns and talk about developing possible solutions that will serve the interests of the tow operators and city residents, said Laliberte.

"We’re looking for some kind of relief for the vehicles we get stuck with," says Dumas.

Mayor Susan D. Menard put the tow operators on notice that they will be removed from the tow list if they refuse to pick up abandoned vehicles. Meanwhile, Menard says she wants to study the problem to see exactly how many abandoned cars the companies are being asked to tow.

"I know the numbers are up and that’s going to continue as long as there is a glut of scrap metal on the market," said the mayor.

Dumas said the tow operators estimate that the city is generating junk vehicles at the rate of about 1.5 a day, or an average of about 85 cars a year for every tow operator in the city.

According to Laliberte, the most likely course of action in the near future will be a move for stricter enforcement of a local ordinance, already on the books, that makes it a crime to abandon a vehicle on private property.

What tow operators really want, however, is a financial incentive for towing junk vehicles, a move that is strongly opposed by city officials. Such a move, they say, could turn the city into a destination for abandoned vehicles, in effect, creating a market for junk where none otherwise exists.

"We’ll open the floodgates if we start paying them," said Laliberte. "We’ll end up having the same problem with junk cars that we were having with the refrigerators. People were coming in from out of town to put their refrigerators on our sidewalks because they knew the city would pick them up."

Still, said Laliberte, if the problem gets much worse the city may have to take a more proactive approach because the proliferation of junk cars "could put some of the tow companies out of business."

Though city officials have threatened to remove companies from the tow list for refusing to pick up abandoned cars, Roger Gagnon of Sandy’s Towing says the tow company’s are already under a standing order from the state to answer all calls for service from municipalities, no questions asked. The tow companies, regulated by the Division of Public Utilities, risk their operating certificate otherwise, said Gagnon. (Russ Olivo - WoonsocketCall.com)

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