Tow Truck Crash Leaves One Driver With Critical Injuries

A collision between a car and a tow truck left a driver pinned inside their vehicle on the North Mopac Expressway in late October 2024. 

The crash occurred just before 11 p.m. on the expressway near the Arboretum Shopping Center in North Austin. A driver was trapped inside their vehicle as a result of the collision. Emergency medical teams freed the driver from the vehicle and rushed them to a local medical center for treatment of life-threatening injuries. 

“Tow trucks are there to help, but their presence can also make an accident scene more dangerous,” says experienced Austin personal injury lawyer Brooks Schuelke. 

When a tow truck stops to pick up a disabled vehicle, both the truck and the vehicle become a temporary road hazard. Drivers must use care to watch for tow trucks and avoid a crash. Similarly, tow truck drivers and towing companies have a duty to use care at accident scenes. 

For a towing company, this responsibility includes training drivers to pick up disabled vehicles and move them safely. For drivers, this responsibility includes following their safety training and using common sense when needed to warn oncoming traffic about the tow truck and the disabled vehicle. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that about 1,280 tow truck drivers suffer yearly injuries. Other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists on the road can also suffer serious injuries in a tow truck collision. 

Tow trucks are typically classified as large trucks, in the same category as semi trucks and large box trucks. Tow trucks can be significantly larger and heavier than regular passenger vehicles. When a sedan, pickup, or SUV collides with a tow truck, the consequences for those riding in the smaller vehicle can be devastating.