A viral video showing a tow truck attempting to hook up to a car while the owner was driving it in San Francisco is raising questions.
Jeff Ferland stopped near Montgomery and Bush streets when he noticed the strange sight, calling it “very bizarre” and “very scary.”
“I saw a Waymo with hazard lights on and then I saw a tow truck maneuvering in front of me to tow it away,” he said. “I thought, 'Oh, I'll just watch this hook up with a broken Waymo car and take off.' And then he went to the car next to it that had people in it and started loading it. They started reversing and he started chasing them with the tow truck.
Ferland pulled out his cell phone and captured most of the incident on video.
“The most effective thing I can do now is record this because it is wrong,” he said.
Ferland said he had never seen anything like it.
“He had the piece down, he maneuvered the forks under the front tires, he continued to chase them backwards with the forks down, and then as he went to take off, as soon as he takes off, he raises his arm,” Ferland said.
Everything happened quickly.
“The car behind them maneuvered around and overtook. At that point they had a clear line of sight to escape the tow truck and they took it,” Ferland said.
Prosecutor David Chiu said his office is investigating the incident.
“We’re dealing with it right now,” he said. “I also understand that the San Francisco Police Department is aware of this incident. We encourage the public to contact them if they have observed anything related to this company’s conduct.”
Earlier this year, Chiu announced that he had banned car towing companies and affiliated companies from doing business with the city, including Specialty Towing and Recovery.
The tow truck in the video had “Specialty Towing” written on the side, but it is unclear if it is the suspended company as several companies use “Specialty” in their name.
“Assuming this is Specialty Towing, then this is the same towing company that previously moved our office to suspend and disbar from receiving city contracts,” Chiu said.
NBC Bay Area reached out to the company listed on the tow truck door by phone and email but did not immediately receive a response.
