A tow truck driver is seen on video allegedly targeting a Northern California couple stopped at a traffic light in downtown San Francisco and attempting to steal their car.
just said joan ABC7 News Her first name and her husband were reportedly driving through downtown San Francisco running errands on the morning of April 9, 2024, before the interaction occurred. According to the newspaper, the couple was in a silver 2017 Toyota Corolla stopped at a traffic light when they noticed a yellow special tow truck driving nearby.
The couple initially believed the truck driver was heading toward a nearby Waymo self-driving vehicle. However, the newspaper said the man began backing up towards the couple and lowered the lever of his car. (Related article: Despite spending millions on public restrooms, San Francisco can’t seem to solve its poop problem)
“We were stopped at a traffic light and thinking about ourselves,” Joan told the outlet. “He came from the side. We thought he was making a right turn. He started in reverse and all the lights came on. That’s when we thought, ‘Hey, something’s really wrong. There I am,” I thought. His lever was down. ”
Video footage of the incident was posted on X (formerly Twitter) and shows the moment a yellow tow truck backs up and attempts to hit Joanne’s car. A bystander who was recording the video could be heard yelling, “What the hell are you doing?” I could faintly hear Joan trying to yell at the tow truck driver.
This woman and her husband were stopped at a light at Montgomery & Busch yesterday morning when a tow truck came out of nowhere and tried to pull over their Toyota.
I spoke to Joan today and she says she doesn’t understand why her car was targeted since she paid it off and paid the registration fee. pic.twitter.com/6p2z0yBEfg
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) April 11, 2024
The newspaper said the tow truck did not move forward when the light turned green, and the couple became trapped.
“We were freaking out. Our first instinct was to run away,” Joanne told ABC7 News.
However, a black sedan was seen backing up right behind the couple’s Toyota, giving the couple room to escape into the street and avoid the tow truck. The tow truck then followed the couple’s car several blocks away, as Joanne claimed, the newspaper reported.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced in February that he had suspended Auto Towing and several associated individuals and companies, including Special Towing, and prohibited them from bidding on or winning city contracts. according to to the press statement. The towing company was banned by authorities for “illegally towing cars of vulnerable people from private commercial parking lots, limiting vehicle recovery times and pressuring vehicle owners to pay in cash.” Ta.
