BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A tow truck driver was arrested Wednesday afternoon after allegedly rolling up on a crash scene and offering to haul a vehicle away, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reported.
The incident happened after four vehicles collided along I-95, near where it passes E. Gateway Blvd., and one of them needed to be towed, the trooper who responded to the wreck explained.
According to the trooper’s statement, after the stranded vehicle’s owner confirmed he had not called anyone about getting his car moved, FHP enlisted a tow-truck driver to transport the gray Honda Accord. The company called was selected using the FHP rotation schedule, which determines which tow company from an authorized list will move a vehicle.
Before the authorized tow truck arrived, another wrecker pulled up and offered to transport the Honda, the report continued. The car’s owner reportedly paid the driver $149 using his credit card to haul away his Honda, telling the trooper he did not know which company had been assigned.
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The owner of the Honda remembered the name of the company on the side of the tow truck, and the trooper was able to do an internet search to track down the suspect’s tow company, the report stated. According to the trooper, the company’s dispatcher denied that her driver broke any law and hung up the phone. The trooper later spoke with the tow driver who repeatedly disputed that he did anything wrong because he was licensed, FHP indicated.
The trooper said the dispatcher and the driver were both told they violated the state law that barred unauthorized tow trucks that drive by a crash scene and offering to move the vehicle before an authorized wrecker arrived.
The driver, who was identified as Marc Charles, was taken into custody and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a count of soliciting business at the scene of a wreck, according to the arrest report.
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