A Bridge Too Low

by Jim “Buck’ Sorrenti

On March 4, 2021 Greg’s Towing received a call from the Akron Police Department for an accident on Newton St., East of Case Ave. involving a fire truck hitting a 10'3" railroad overhead bridge.

Greg’s owner Greg Prunty responded with his 2017 KW with a Century 5030 30-ton, heavy operator Steve Labay Jr responded in a 2018 Pete with a 50-ton Jerr-Dan and operator Keith Riley went out in a Dodge with a Jerr-Dan MPL40. Tyler Bishop from Bower's Towing was an extra helper.

Upon arrival and the initial walk around, Greg’s crew found the fire truck, a retired unit used for parades, that belonged to a private individual. Steve informed, “The unit had been traveling east and hit the bridge with such force that it had broken the boom mount off the frame and bent the boom down and spun it over the side. The basket had excessive damage and the body was twisted.”

When the unit came to a stop it had struck a telephone pole and wires were down, strewn across the road. “After the Electric Company had secured the pole and the power, we were able to put our recovery plan into action,” said Steve. “The unit was still running and we backed it off the sidewalk and crossways into the street, so we could position the Jerr-Dan 50-ton in front of the unit and the Century 5030 30-ton on the side.

First they winched and lifted the boom clockwise towards the front of the truck with the 5030. Then they extended the boom on the 50-ton to lift the boom over the undamaged cab and a/c unit. The MPL40 was used to winch the basket back around and in place. “We used the 5030 to hold the boom and the Jerr-Dan 50-ton to lift the boom over the cab and back into place,” explained Steve.

The crew strapped the boom down and towed the fire truck from the scene to Greg’s lot. The next day the owner came and was able to drive the unit home.
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Greg Prunty owns Greg’s Towing, based in Akron, Ohio. The company, established in 1983, serves northeastern Ohio. Their services include towing and recovery from light to heavy-duty, lockouts and jump starts.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on May 12, 2021 by Jim "Buck" Sorrenti, who passed away in December of 2021. Owner Greg Prunty of Greg's Towing also passed away on June 5, 2022. 

Do you have a recovery to share with TIW readers? Send some pics and info to  Field Editor George Nitti  at georgenitti@gmail.com; your story may even be selected for print in American Towman magazine!

Jackknifed On Guardrail 

By Jim “Buck” Sorrenti 

Traffic was backed up for miles on July 26, 2021 after a tractor-trailer jackknifed on top of a guard rail on I-195 East in Swansea, Ma. It was actively leaking fuel.  

Eric Fouquette from Big Wheel Towing and Recovery, who happened to be in the area in his 2020 Dodge Ram 5500 Century flatbed, rushed to the scene to deal with the leaking diesel fuel. He placed a large hazardous fluids pop up containment pool directly underneath the compromised fuel tank. In order to access the underside of the tank, he had to lay in poison ivy, thus preventing over 100-gallons of diesel fuel from spilling from the tank and polluting wetlands.  

Other equipment and personnel responded close behind Eric and arrived on scene shortly thereafter. Big Wheel responded with both of their heavy-duty rotating style crane recovery units. When the equipment arrived on scene, Eric operated his 2020 Kenworth 880 with a NRC HIM 80-ton rotator, operator Mike Cleary in the 2017 Peterbilt 589 with a Century 1150R 50-ton rotator, operator Kevin Whitle in the HAZMAT Response Truck, operator Nathaniel Wing got in the 2020 Dodge Ram 5500 Century flatbed and owner Bob Fouquette was in his Isuzu Traffic Control Unit. 

Eric informed, “Once on scene, our Traffic Control Unit was positioned at the rear in order to assist with the roadway and lane closure. Our LED arrowboard/advanced warning indicator affixed to the top of the truck was illuminated and raised in order to warn oncoming motorists of the incident ahead. With a perimeter established around the scene, our HAZMAT Truck was positioned at the front of the scene in close proximity to the damaged tractor. One of our recovery team members wore a Tyvek suit and went underneath the tractor in order to drill a pilot hole into the side of the fuel tank so that the remainder of the diesel fuel could be siphoned from the compromised tank. Our air-operated fuel transfer pump was then used to siphon the remaining fuel from both fuel tanks as well as from the containment pool which was initially used to collect the fuel.” 

After all of the fuel was successfully removed, the HAZMAT drums filled with fuel were loaded onto their ramp truck and relocated on scene along with the HAZMAT Truck. Both rotators could now be positioned and setup in order to begin the recovery operation. One of the rotators was positioned and setup in front of the tractor while the other rotator was positioned and setup behind the trailer.  

Eric explained, “Heavy-duty chain bridles were then strategically installed onto the front and rear of the trailer as well as onto the tractor itself directly behind the cab area. This combination of rigging would allow for both of our cranes to simultaneously lift the entire tractor-trailer unit.” 

After all of the necessary rigging was installed, both operators rotated and extended each of the rotator booms out towards the area where the tractor-trailer was located and the upper winch lines on each rotator were attached to the rigging. Both operators slowly applied upward tension onto each line, which began to elevate both the tractor and trailer. Both rotators continued to elevate both units several feet in the air until they were above the steel guardrail system. With the entire tractor-trailer unit now suspended in mid-air, both rotators, working in tandem, slowly rotated the entire tractor-trailer up and over the guardrail until it was brought back over the roadway. 

Once above the roadway and a safe distance away from the guardrail, the rotators slowly lowered both units back down onto the pavement. The hazardous fluids pool was placed back underneath the compromised fuel tank as fuel continued to leak from the tank. All of the rigging used was uninstalled from the tractor-trailer and placed back within the respective rotator. 

Frank Corp. Environmental began to perform some preliminary site work to contain the spill area and prevent the further migration of fuel into the environment. The tractor-trailer was prepped for transport and transported from the scene back to Big Wheel’s Freetown storage facility. Once there, the tractor was separated from the trailer and both were placed into storage. 
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Big Wheel Towing & Recovery, located in East Freetown, Ma., is own one of the largest and most respected towing and recovery companies in New England. Bob started his family business in 1980 and now has three generations actively working including his sons Eric and David. Their extensive fleet of over 30 pieces of equipment and numerous other units, painted in their signature yellow, are familiar sites on the highways of the Northeast. 

Frank Corp. Environmental Services is a full-service environmental company available 24/7 for emergency response. They provide a range of services from emergency hazardous material spill clean-up to planning for and servicing proper management of hazardous materials all the way from use through disposal.  

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Do you have a recovery to share with TIW readers? Send some pics and info to our Field Editor Jim “Buck” Sorrenti at jimchaos69@yahoo.com; your story may even be selected for print in American Towman magazine! 

Liquid Chocolate Tanker Recovery

By George L. Nitti

On March 28, one of the casualties of a wicked snow squall that descended upon Schulylkill County, Pennsylvania, which caused a massive pile-up on Interstate 81, 50 miles north of Harrisburg,  was a tanker filled with chocolate syrup enroute to Hershey Park.

Mark Hammer, owner/president and operator of their 65-ton NRC rotator, along with Jeremy Richards, the operator of their Century 75-ton rotator, were both instrumental in removing the tanker, one of the last recoveries made amidst many entangled and mangled vehicles numbering more than 80. 

At the recovery scene, many contaminants were released on the roadside and vehicles were burned up from fire. According to Hammer, those were a couple of the many challenges they faced during the clean-up.

Hammer added “The tanker recovery was challenging because it was full of liquid chocolate and because the heat from the fire was so significant, the tanker/product was left at a dangerously high temperature.”

The crew of Hammer’s decided it best to let the tanker sit and cool down while they worked on recoveries around it.

When it came time to remove the tanker with the 65 and 75 ton rotators, Hammer said they first attempted to sit it on a bus hauler for transport.

“However, it was determined that this was not the safest method,” said Hammer.  “Therefore crews placed a dolly underneath the front of the tanker and chained and secured everything for transport.”

Finally all axles were chained and the tanker was towed from the rear. 

Credit goes to all of the operators at Hammer’s including both Hammer and Richards, along with tow operators Dwayne Kimmel, Dale Reightler, Shawn Houtz, Daniel Shuman, Brian Huntzinger, and Brian Staller.

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Should your recovery be featured here? Send pics and your contact information to the editor at georgenitti@gmail.com. You might even be selected to go in print, too, in American Towman magazine!

Tragic Pile-up with Silver Lining

By George L. Nitti

On March 28, 2022, two of the larger tow companies in Schulylkill County, Pennsylvania, were dispatched to attend to a massive pile-up on Interstate 81, 50 miles north of Harrisburg. The tragic event involved over 80 vehicles that included several deaths, numerous casualties, and lots of damaged vehicles, including passenger vehicles, box trucks, RVs, motorhomes, tractor trailers and even tankers. The cause: a blinding snow squall that suddenly enveloped the roadway.

Enter Hammer’s Towing and Trail Towing & Recovery. Both companies worked side by side, for almost two days, laboriously extracting one vehicle after another until the job was finished and the roadway cleared. 

Mike Gula, owner of Trail Towing said, “Usually we work against each other. This time we worked together. And it worked really well. I think we buried the hatchet on this one.”

Mark Hammer, owner of Hammer’s Towing said, “We started around 8 p.m. and worked around the clock. We didn’t finish until 12 a.m. the following evening.” Gula said, “It was definitely one of the worst recoveries I have ever seen.... It was two days of hell. No sleep for two days.”

The nightmarish scene exposed countless vehicles that were entangled, mangled and burned. Hammer said, “There were over 80 vehicles involved so there was a lot to work through.” Before a recovery ensued, each vehicle had to be checked for passengers and cleared by police. Gula added, “It was a slow process at first until they had everybody accounted for.”

Fire was also involved, completely burning up some of the vehicles. Hammer said, “There was fuel oil, diesel, antifreeze, and other contaminants soaking the roadway that crews had to work in.” Noting the horror of one of the burned vehicles, Jeremy Richards, 75 ton rotator operator of Hammer’s said, “There was a pick-up truck pulling a camper. It was so burned, you couldn’t even make it out from one of the pictures.”

Adding to the challenge, was the grinding, tedious nature of the work. “You know what happens when you get tired,” Gula said. “Everything becomes a hassle. Everytime you would get to the next truck, it would be a different story.  For one recovery, we needed a dolly, for another a Landoll. I said, “We might be able to tow this one, but we have to do 13 things first.’”

Both companies spared no equipment nor manpower to get the job done.  Hammer’s brought along several rotators, heavy duty wreckers, a bus hauler, a service truck and a flatbed.  Trail was also deep in equipment. Gula said, “You need a lot of other set ups to go along with the heavy duty trucks. Landolls, skidloaders, dollies, dumpsters…. It’s one thing to go up there and hope that most things roll, but the fact is that they didn’t.”

Not only were both companies aided by ample equipment, but employed over 20 tow operators to clear the scene. Gula commented, “It’s great to have all of the equipment in the world, but the main thing is help. All of my guys are awesome. I turn around at 2 a.m. in the morning, and all my guys are there.”

At the end of the day, Hammer estimated that they pulled out over 3 dozen trucks and cars. Gula estimated that for every vehicle Hammer’s pulled out, they pulled out in equal proportion.

Side by side, working together, two competitors united for the common good.

Brag @ TIW!
Should your recovery be featured here? Send pics and your contact information to the editor at georgenitti@gmail.com. You might even be selected to go in print, too, in American Towman magazine!