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Accident points out excessive speed
Published 6:38pm Friday, February 6, 2009Until this past Saturday, Mitch Bock of A1 Anytime Towing and Recovery had never been involved in an accident in his 22 years as an emergency road service operator. His luck changed about 7 p.m. on Jan. 31.
“I’m fortunate that I wasn’t killed,” said Bock while recalling his AT truck being hit by the driver of a Mitsubishi Lancer along Interstate 94, north of WalMart. He’s been driving for A1 Anytime Towing for close to a year.
The driver struck Bock’s tow truck after just missing a state patrol vehicle that was stopped, with flashing lights, between WalMart and the railway overpass along the interstate and near the ethanol plant northwest of Fergus Falls.
Bock had been dispatched to the scene after a vehicle, experiencing icy roads, slid off the road and entered the median. The experienced Bock has often assisted in cases of breakdowns or collisions.
The driver of the Mitsubishi Lancer, an 18-year-old student of Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and native of Two Harbors, was cited by the State Highway Patrol with reckless driving. That driver, as with Bock, escaped injury.
Both the Lancer and tow truck were totaled. Visually, the Lancer took a real hit. Most of the damage to the tow truck took place to the underside of the emergency road service vehicle.
When Bock arrived at the scene, another vehicle had just been pulled from the ditch by Wayne’s Towing. The driver that struck Bock’s tow truck was eastbound, traveling from Moorhead toward Fergus Falls, along Interstate 94.
After the collision, a subsequent crash took place — with one car rear-ending another. The interstate was closed by the state highway patrol for two hours, with vehicles forced to take detours.
“People simply drive too fast and don’t slow down enough when they see flashing lights,” said Bock. Jon Opatz, who with his wife, Debra, owns A1 Anytime Towing and Recovery, agrees.
“Mitch is to be commended for the way he handled this incident, and we’re so very thankful that he wasn’t injured,” Opatz said. Opatz drives tow trucks along with Bock and a part-time employee, John Hanson.
Bock said he feels no ill will toward the driver of the Lancer, but feels the entire incident should be a wake-up call for Minnesota drivers. He commends the State Highway Patrol and other organizations who deliver safety presentations on a regular basis across the state.
Both Opatz and Bock feel that stiffer fines, and getting the word out about these new fines, might make drivers think twice about slowing down when they approach flashing lights along roadways.
Opatz said he’s appreciative of Beyer Towing, a competitor, coming to the assistance of Bock and the A1 Anytime Towing business following the accident along Interstate 94. Support from other towing businesses came to Opatz, in addition to Beyer Towing.
“Safety for everyone can and should be number one,” Bock said.
Tom Hintgen/Daily Journal
This A1 Anytime Towing and Recovery vehicle was struck on the back right side Jan. 31, as pointed out by A1 employee Mitch Bock who escaped injury.
