PENNSYLVANIA -- A tow-truck operator just four months on the job was struck and killed Tuesday afternoon by a commercial truck that veered onto the northbound shoulder of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, police said.

The accident, which was south of Route 113, occurred just after 2 p.m. as the driver of the tow truck, John Quiton, 42, of Emmaus, was standing by the driver’s side door of a disabled Volvo station wagon, searching for its hood-release lever, police said.

"A tow-truck driver ... was on the scene for a disabled vehicle, just starting the process of determining what was wrong with the car when a commercial vehicle left the roadway, traveled onto the rumble strip and struck the tow-truck operator," said Sgt. Robert Foose, with the King of Prussia Barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"The tow-truck operator was standing beside the open door when it happened," Foose said.

Quiton was pronounced dead at the scene by Victoria Firth, of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. The disabled motorist, standing on the car’s passenger side, was not hurt.

Foose said the tow-truck driver was from Mechanics Plus Inc. of Emmaus and was authorized to work on the turnpike.

The driver of the single-unit commercial truck, Charles Sanders Jr., of Browns Mills, N.J., was not injured, Foose said.

Sanders, who was driving a commercial vehicle owned by Theodore Moser Inc., of Palmyra, N.J., will undergo a blood test due to state regulations for fatal accidents.

The right lane of the northbound side of the extension was shut down through rush hour Tuesday, causing a traffic backup that stretched for more than six miles south of the accident scene.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the accident, and the accident reconstruction units of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office as well as that of Troop K of the state police, responded to the scene Tuesday.

A representative of Mechanics Plus declined to comment Tuesday but said the company will issue a public statement today. (Daniel J. Sernovitz - The Mercury)

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NEW YORK -- A Suffern man was charged with assault after police said he stabbed a tow-truck operator in the chest following an altercation in the parking lot of the Stonegate condominium complex.

Jesse Lightner, 71, Parkside Drive, Suffern, was arrested by Suffern Police about 6 p.m. Thursday, following the stabbing.

Police said Lightner was interfering with a tow-truck operator's attempt to place a vehicle with four flat tires onto a flatbed truck. The vehicle belonged to a family member. Suffern Detective Craig Long said Lightner stabbed Daniel Ingalls, 40, an employee of Dom's Towing, Spring Valley, who was attempting to tow the vehicle from the parking lot in the complex.

Ingalls was treated at the scene by the Rockland Paramedics Service and transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern by the Ramapo Valley Ambulance Corps, where he was treated and released. Lightner complained of chest pains and was also taken to the hospital. He was arraigned at the hospital, discharged and taken to county jail, police said.

Police charged Lightner with first-degree attempted assault, a felony; second-degree assault, a felony; third-degree criminal tampering, a misdemeanor; fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor; fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor; and several lesser charges. Lightner was arraigned by Suffern Village Justice Matthew Byrne and sent to the county jail on $15,000 bail for a future court appearance. (Nancy Cacioppo - The Journal News)

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NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court decision is allowing the City of New York to impound out-of-town tow trucks who do not purchase a City license if they drive to or through New York City. The court's action last week stayed an earlier decision in favor of the Automobile Club of New York in a lower court that prohibited the City from enforcing their licensing statute against non-resident tow trucks.

The Court's action means that AAA members requiring a tow into or though New York City must be dropped off at "hand off" points on their New York City border to wait for a City licensed tow truck to transport them to their final destination. This procedure inconveniences the member, creates safety concerns and vastly complicates the delivery of towing services. The City license costs an additional $600 and generally requires a minimum of twelve weeks to obtain.

Reciprocal agreements have been in place for decades that have exempted out-of-town trucks from having to comply with the City licensing regulations. Last March, without warning, the City's Department of Consumer Affairs began seizing out-of-town trucks and ticketing drivers. The City of Yonkers then seized a New York City based tow truck for not meeting its regulations.

A hearing on the City's motion is to be argued before a three-judge panel in federal appeals court on September 21st. For more information, go to http://www.aaany.com and click on "What's Hot, NYC's Actions Jeopardize Members."

The Automobile Club of New York provides automotive, travel and financial services to 1.3 million members in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Herkimer, Oneida and Putnam counties. (usnewswire.com)

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TEXAS -- AAA Texas LLC will offer members 16 new and expanded benefits through AAA Premier, a new level of membership the organization has created.

Through AAA Premier, members can take advantage of expanded roadside assistance with up to 200 miles of towing for one vehicle per household, a one-day complimentary car rental with an in-state tow, home lockout service and 24-hour concierge and emergency travel/medical services.

The cost of the new single AAA Premier membership is $102 per year and $154 for a family of two.

"AAA Premier provides members more help on the road, or when they're leisurely traveling," says AAA Texas General Manager George Clarke. "It also provides other benefits that extend to purchasing a vehicle, reduced air and rail service fees and en-route travel directions."

AAA Texas maintains offices throughout the state, including San Antonio. (American City Business Journals Inc)

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FLORIDA – A Jacksonville City Councilman is on a mission to cap the rates that towing companies can charge for private impounds.

The reason that Councilman Art Shad sites for wanting this rate cap is to “prevent price gouging” before super bowl XXXIX comes to town, but towing companies in town believe there is another reason.

You see, according to a published report, Councilman Shad recently admitted to parking illegally across from city hall where his car was impounded to the tune of $225.

Now, right after his car was impounded, Shad suddenly wants to cap the rates for the good of the people? Not likely.

Jacksonville towing companies feel that Shad is still steaming from his impound experience and is using or abusing his position to get back at the towing companies in Jacksonville.

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MINNESOTA -- Gary Stephanson is an independent insurance adjuster; 20 to 30 times a year, he said, he goes to the Minneapolis impound lot to evaluate an accident-damaged car, take a few photos and process a claim.

He's been surprised that the impound lot doesn't make him pay the towing and storage fees and remove junk cars, he said. State insurance laws require such coverage if drivers have collision or comprehensive coverage or were not at fault in the accident.

Instead, Stephanson said impound lot staff has repeatedly told him that he could leave the junk cars. The city sells them at auction to scrap and parts dealers, but it does not recover the full tow and storage costs.

A recent city report estimated the impound lot lost $3.6 million in 2002 on unpaid towing and storage fees from abandoned cars. Some of those are accident-damaged vehicles.

"They are leaving a half-million dollars on the table at least," Stephanson said of the city. "They are giving away money."

Scott Wellan, a city parking systems analyst that works in the impound lot, agrees. The city is drafting policies to charge insurance companies if they abandon accident vehicles in the impound lot, and it should start charging by year's end, he said.

In 2002, the impound lot handled 2,668 accident-damaged cars, Wellan said. He did not know how many were abandoned, but estimated most were because the average stay was 13 days. Public Works' Mike Sachi said the number of abandoned accident cars was "big enough to notice," and estimated the figure at "hundreds of vehicles per year."

State Farm and All State spokespeople said their companies do not abandon vehicles at the lot. The city does not have solid numbers and is researching the matter, Wellan said.

If 2,000 accident-damaged vehicles were insured and abandoned (that's Stephanson's estimate) the city could have netted approximately $680,000 a year from insurance companies, according to Skyway News calculations -- enough, for example, to pay for nine full-time police officers.

Members of the City Council's Public Works and Transportation Committee learned at an Aug. 10 meeting that the city had not pursued insurance companies in the past.

Committee Chair Sandy Colvin Roy (12th Ward) said she was "stunned" and Councilmember Robert Lilligren (8th Ward) called it "shocking."

Not a new idea

St. Paul doesn't have a written policy to pursue insurance company payments, but the companies are "strongly encouraged" to recover their vehicles, said Sgt. John Wuorinen, St. Paul's impound manager.

He uses what might best be described as good old-fashioned guilt.

"I have had words with people -- insurance agents," Wuorinen said. "They are just going to leave the vehicle here. I get into the thing: 'Does your client, who buys the insurance, know you are going to stiff us with the bill? Are you a reputable business?'"

Some insurance companies abandon cars in the St. Paul impound lot, but most pay up, Wuorinen said.

In an interview prior to the Aug. 10 Council meeting, Wellan said he did not know why Minneapolis had not done more in the past to recover costs from insurance companies.

Of the new policy, he said, "When an insurance company comes to view the vehicle, they will not be allowed access to it unless they sign and antidumping statement, indicating they will accept responsibility for the vehicle if they discard it at the impound lot," he said.

Mo' money

The impound lot handled approximately 10,000 abandoned cars in 2002, some brought in during snow emergencies, street sweeps or for parking violations, according to Public Works. They cost the city an average of $403 each: $133 for the tow and $270 for storage and overhead. The city offsets some costs by selling abandoned cars at auction, often to scrap dealers.

Stephanson, owner of GLS Appraising and a consultant with the Web site CarSoup.com, said CarSoup would like to earn the city more money by selling all impound lot cars -- the scrap cars and the ones that run.

CarSoup could upgrade the city's auction Web site, providing vehicle pictures, mileage, options and condition reports, not currently available, he said. It could deliver a significantly larger pool of potential buyers.

Stephanson had another moneymaking idea for the city, one he says other tow lots use: Charge the insurance companies a $50 disposal fee for junk cars. It would save the insurance companies money, he said -- instead of paying a $75 tow to get the junk car off the lot, they could pay the lesser fee.

Stephanson and CarSoup made a comprehensive moneysaving pitch to the city last year, he said.

Wellan said the impound lot is considering the disposal fee idea. He said the city is considering putting out a request for proposals for an online pilot project, but it won't happen until 2005 at the earliest. The city would choose the pilot project's vendor by competitive bidding, he said.

"Online auction is certainly something that we are looking at. We haven't made any real decisions," he said.

At the Aug. 10 Transportation Committee meeting, Sachi said impound lot changes ranged from customer service improvements and reducing space demands to improving collections from abandoned car owners. (Scott Russell - Southwest Journal)

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CALIFORNIA -- A Santa Maria woman was rescued by firefighters after her vehicle plunged down a ravine near Vandenberg Village and rolled several times, pinning her beneath it.

Melissa Reyes, 27, was southbound on Highway 1 near the Constellation Road exit about 2 p.m. Thursday when her sedan veered into the northbound lane, rolled 30 feet down a steep, brush filled ravine, and rested sideways, police said.

California Highway Patrol officer Kurt Schmidt, who arrived at the scene shortly after being called at 2:29 p.m., said the cause of the accident was unknown.

Reyes was ejected from the vehicle and her legs were pinned by the front end of the car, police said. Firefighters cut the brush around her vehicle to reach her. She was stabilized and hoisted with the help of nearly 10 firefighters at around 3:20 p.m. and transported to Lompoc Hospital, authorities said.

"She's alert and conscious," Schmidt said, shortly after Reyes was freed.

Firefighters lifted and secured the vehicle from rolling by attaching a cable from the car to a tow truck parked above the ravine.

Firefighters from Lompoc City, San Bernardino County and Vandenberg Air Force Base were called to the scene. Lompoc Battalion Chief Andy Densmore coordinated rescue efforts from above the ravine.

Reyes was in stable condition today morning, a Lompoc Hospital spokeswoman said. (Neil Nisperos - The Lompoc Record)

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MASSACHUSETTS -- A Lowell tow-truck driver was released on personal recognizance after pleading innocent to motor vehicle homicide in connection with a freak accident on the Lowell Connector in which a trailer disconnected from his tow truck and killed another motorist.

Patrick Sheehy, 27, of Lowell, was arraigned in Lowell District Court on one misdemeanor count of negligent motor vehicle homicide in connection with the June 6 death of Jeanine Rodgers, 24, of Hamilton, according to Emily LaGrassa, spokeswoman for District Attorney Martha Coakley.

Sheehy's next court date is Sept. 30.

Rodgers was killed when the trailer being towed by Sheehy came loose on the Connector, crossed the median, became airborne, and slammed into the driver's side window of her Volkswagen Jetta.

She was killed instantly.

The company Sheehy was working for, Stuart's Towing of 117 Congress St., was given a $35 civil citation for improperly securing the trailer. State police also suspended the company from its list of tow-truck operators.

Shortly before the accident, Sheehy had been called to Interstate 495 south, just before the Connector, because the trailer had come loose from a vehicle driven by its owner, Lowell King, of Derby, Conn.

No one was injured, but the trailer ended up in the middle of the highway and couldn't be reconnected to King's vehicle. (Lisa Redmond - lowellsun.com)

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WISCONSIN -- Appleton police say a tow truck driver kept witnesses at the scene of a murder from running away. While the driver says he would do the same thing again, police hope next time he'll stay out of harm's way.

Brian Meier of D & D Towing stopped at the Express Convenience Center on Richmond Street early Saturday morning. "I just stopped there after doing a normal tow."

There he heard a popping noise. Within seconds he realized it was a gunshot and promptly called 911. He also told everyone who was there to stay put.

"I had announced that I was on the phone with local law enforcement and that they would like everyone to stay where they are," Meier explained.

Kenton Wilson, 24, died later from a gunshot to the chest, according to the criminal complaint.

The shooting suspect, Steven Garcia, fled on foot. Police say Meier's tow truck blocked cars parked in the lot.

Police say they appreciate Meier's efforts but it's not something they recommend people do.

"What we want to make sure is that people aren't getting themselves involved with crimes that are in progress," Sgt. Pat DeWall said, "because there's danger involved, and that's what we're trained to do."

Meier says he was just trying to be a good Samaritan. "I as a person would hope that someone else would stop for me in case I had a problem."

And he said if the same were to happen tonight, he would probably do the same thing. "It's human nature to either to help or to run, and I guess you know... I choose to help, I don't choose to run."

Most of all, he's glad a suspect was caught within minutes of the shooting. (Jerry Burke - wbay.com)

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