A towing company with allegedly illegal practices is receiving the wrong kind of attention after one of its drivers attempted to tow a moving vehicle with two occupants. Video of a Ram 5500 attempting to hook an idling Toyota Corolla at a stoplight in San Francisco went viral, prompting a statement from prosecutor David Chiu, who told ABC7 Bay Area that the truck driver's aggressive behavior “unfortunately not surprising”. “Given Specialty Towing’s history of lawbreaking and generally unscrupulous behavior.
While it's not surprising to Chiu, the video is still alarming. The Corolla's owners, Harry and Joanne Cho, told the San Francisco Standard that they were running errands Tuesday morning when the incident occurred. As the couple sat at a stoplight on the corner of Bush and Montgomery Streets – more or less downtown SF – they noticed the yellow tow truck heading back in their direction. The truck driver opened his yoke and tried to hook the sedan's front axle, but Harry Cho quickly backed up, out of reach of the tow bar, and went around the Ram to escape. The truck then pursued the Corolla, as footage shared by ABC7 shows:
The entire incident was captured by SF resident and software engineer Jeff Ferland. Ferland told SF Gate that he believed the tow truck was there to recover a Waymo autonomous vehicle in the adjacent lane that had its hazard lights flashing. This would hardly be unusual given the high failure rate (and general chaos) that disabled autonomous vehicles have brought to San Francisco traffic.
But as the tow truck raced behind the occupied Corolla instead of sitting in front of the robotaxi, Ferland began recording. He told NBC Bay Area he had to capture the incident on video because it was the most effective measure during the dangerous tow, adding that the attempt was simply “wrong.” Passersby can be heard trying to get the driver's attention and someone yells, “What the hell are you doing?” as the Corolla swerves around the Specialty Towing truck and escapes.
That's the tow truck leaving on yellow, behind the Corolla on the other side of the intersection. ABC7 News Bay Area via YouTube
Ferland called the San Francisco Police Department's emergency number to report the incident, but the SFPD claims it has no record of that conversation, according to SF Gate. Harry and Joanne Cho contacted police immediately afterward, but the dispatcher who spoke to the couple was skeptical of their claims. Harry Cho told the SF Standard that police “didn’t really believe what we had to say.” It wasn't until Thursday – after the video went viral – that the SFPD confirmed it had filed an official report, and an investigation is now reportedly underway.
Joanne Cho can't explain why the tow truck driver was after her car. She says the 2017 Toyota Corolla is fully paid off with a valid registration. Specialty Towing has refused to speak to the media to explain the illegal attempt, and workers at a subsidiary under a separate company name, Auto Towing, were unhelpful.
Auto Towing, which owns Specialty Towing, among other subsidiaries, was blocked from obtaining labor contracts in San Francisco earlier this year. Chiu ruled out cooperating with the city after the district attorney's office charged the owners with “multiple felonies related to an alleged welfare fraud scheme.”
The towing company has a history of targeting Spanish and Cantonese speakers, illegally towing their cars, then making it difficult for them to get their vehicles back and forcing them to pay in cash. The SFPD is now asking residents who have been targeted by Specialty Towing to contact the department immediately.
ABC7 News Bay Area via YouTube
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