Much-Loved Tow Driver Killed While Helping Stranded Motorist

OSHA
Gordon Parks

Saginaw, MI — For many, tow-truck driving may not seem like a very hazardous occupation. But according the owner of one tow-truck company, one tow truck driver gets killed almost every six days in the United States.For him, it’s not just a statistic. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, one of his friends and employees was killed. Bill Giorgis, the owner of Mike’s Wrecker Service in Saginaw, Michigan, got the horrible news on Wednesday night that a tow driver had been hit on Dixie Highway near Zelle Drive. “My heart sank. We knew we had a driver in the area,” Bill Giorgis told ABC-12. “When the police called us and there is an accident involving a tow man, and they weren’t sure if it was us or not, we immediately headed down there and we realized it was Tom.” “Tom” is Thomas Tripp, 41 – a long-time employee who was much loved around the shop.

Check Cashing Worker Killed In Apparent Robbery

LAS VEGAS, NV (KXNT) – A woman working in a check cashing business was shot and killed by a gunman as she opened the store for the day Thursday, according to authorities. The employee was entering the business on the 1400 block of North Jones Boulevard around 9:15 a.m. Thursday when the shooting occurred, a Las Vegas Metro Police statement reported.Investigators believe at least one suspect entered the building behind the woman and possibly attempted to rob her. During the encounter, the  employee was shot.

Retired FDNY firefighter dies of cancer caused by working at WTC after 9/11

New York, NY — A retired FDNY lieutenant is the latest first responder to succumb to a Ground Zero-related cancer, authorities said Tuesday. Lt. Joe Stach, who spent 72 hours at the World Trade Center site immediately after the terror attacks and stayed there for weeks, died Sunday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, family members said. He was 51. Stach was a firefighter in 2001. He retired as a lieutenant in 2010, after 20 years with the department.

Tow truck driver killed in Petersburg neighborhood; suspect arrested

PETERSBURG, Va. — Police have arrested a suspect after a tow truck driver was found shot to death around midnight Thursday morning in a Petersburg neighborhood. Surveillance video time-stamped 11:46 p.m. showed a tow truck heading down Lakewood Drive towards Westwood. Minutes later, police received a 911 call from someone in the neighborhood.  Police were called to the 3700 block of Westwood Drive near Lakewood Drive and South Crater Road at 12:09 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the body of 42-year-old Elwood A. Humphries of Williamsburg, a Petersburg Police spokesperson said.

Worker Dies in Fremont After Getting Pinned Between Big Rig, Loading Dock

Fremont, CA — A 30-year-old man died at work in Fremont Wednesday evening when he was pinned between a tractor trailer and a loading dock while helping the driver back into place, according to police. Emergency crews responded to a business in the 5900 block of Stewart Avenue just before 8 p.m. on report of a collision between a tractor trailer and a pedestrian. Investigators say the man was standing behind the tractor trailer, guiding the driver towards the loading dock when he was pinned in place. The driver backed all the way in and unhooked the trailer from the tractor. He found the victim, unresponsive, 15 minutes later. The driver moved the trailer, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s been identified by the Alameda County coroner’s bureau as Fremont resident Travis Michael St. Amant.

65-year-old SC DOT worker dies after slipping, falling on snow and ice

6 thoughts on “Weekly Toll: Tow Truck Drivers, Cops, Truck Drivers, School Workers — Not Coming Home”
  1. If you are working in tow service provider company or owner such organization, then make sure you stay updated by all that vital information which will help you to stay awake regarding to your business services and policies. What does customer wants, what new steps a company must and what are changes should be in policies are those things that should be look after.

  2. As a tow truck driver myself, we do face danger, especially on busy highways. If you’re not off the road enough, you can sadly get struck by oncoming traffic. Take heed, and get as far over as possible. It’s a sad event and happens far too often to tow truck drivers.

  3. This is why I am grateful that Oregon passed the law that you must move over or slow down for stopped emergency equipment, this applies to towing companies stopped on the side of the road as well. It doesn’t take away all the risk but does make it much safer.

  4. It’s unfortunate we have so many avoidable mishaps on the roadway. Owning a tow truck company we’ve seen it all and the majority of the time what we see could have been avoided. I can’t tell you how many times we were almost in a bad situation ourselves while loading a vehicle for a tow. Even with all the right safety measures like flags, vests and flares, there’s always someone out there who just isn’t paying attention. Be careful and always make sure you’re doing all you can.

  5. It’s so sad to see that tragedies like these consume us everywhere we look and it’s becoming all we see. Most of these incidents were unavoidable and because someone didn’t do what they should have, someone has to suffer. Vehicle accidents should not be called accidents, because someone is always at fault. We see this all the time in the towing industry which unfortunately to a degree, is more than we should be.

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