St. Louis area tow truck drivers honor fallen colleague with funeral procession

“They’re here to show support and love,” said Niki O’Bryan, the manager of Bivins’ employer, Paw Paw Towing of Millstadt. “The towing community is a close-knit community. We’re always here to help each other out.”

Dozens of tow trucks parked at Weber Chevrolet in Columbia, with their hazard lights on, before lining up for the procession. A large digital sign on one truck, from Petroff Towing in Caseyville, read “RIP Wade.”

O’Bryan said the procession aimed to make the public aware of the need to pay attention and watch out for tow trucks and other emergency vehicles responding to accidents.  

Fire trucks from various Metro East departments also took part in the procession, in recognition of Bivins’ many years of service as a volunteer firefighter.

The procession went from Leesman Funeral Home in Dupo, where a visitation and memorial service were held, to a gathering at the community center in nearby East Carondelet in St. Clair County. That’s where Bivins lived for many years and was a longtime volunteer in civic causes.

“Every community needs a Wade,” said Herb Simmons, East Carondelet’s longtime mayor and a friend and neighbor of Bivins for decades. “I never heard him say the word ‘no’.”

The Illinois State Police said Bivins was struck as he walked around the left side of his tow truck last Wednesday morning on the right shoulder of southbound I-255 near Columbia. The driver of the truck that hit Bivins stopped and stayed on the scene.

A state police spokeswoman said Tuesday that the incident was still under investigation.

Simmons, the mayor, said Bivins had been a volunteer firefighter for the Prairie Du Pont Fire Department, which serves East Carondelet and nearby areas, since 1984.

Simmons said he also had been assistant director of the village’s emergency service agency, also a volunteer position.

He also said Bivins filled sandbags during the great 1993 flood, played Santa Claus for local kids at village celebrations and helped out with the village’s annual charity fish fry.

O’Bryan said Bivins had been a tow truck driver about two years and began working for Paw Paw last April.

Before that, Simmons said, Bivins had worked for Mississippi River barge companies for about 20 years. One of his responsibilities, Simmons said, had been heading an emergency response team for barge traffic.

Simmons said Bivins had expressed concern at the danger tow truck drivers face. “He’d always say (they) have to be careful out there because people don’t slow down and move over,” Simmons said.

O’Bryan said the danger for tow truck drivers and other emergency workers has increased in recent years as more and more motorists are distracted by their smartphones.

Some drivers who joined the procession said they did so to pay their respects to Bivins, and to support safety in what can be a dangerous job. Eddie Burke, with Curtis Auto Body and Towing in Millstadt, said he sees people every day on their phones while they’re driving. 

Driver Danny Sanders, with Majeed Towing in Ballwin, said he wanted to make the point “for people to move over.”

Henry Mooney, a driver with Jerry’s Auto Repair and Towing in Red Bud, said, “People just don’t care anymore. I feel like tow truck drivers don’t get respect.”

O’Bryan and Simmons said they believed that motorists would pay more attention if Illinois would change its rules to allow tow truck drivers to use red and blue flashing lights like those in Missouri are able to do. Illinois tow trucks are restricted to amber lights.

O’Bryan said she and a tow company official in Waterloo plan to begin a petition drive to try to get the Illinois rules changed. Simmons said that would require action by the state Legislature.

Among the survivors are Bivins’ wife, Paula Bivins, three daughters and three grandchildren.