TOLEDO, Ohio -
A Toledo driver says after a problem on the highway, she was forced to a use a tow truck she didn't want. It's something that cost her some big bucks. Now the 13abc I-Team is looking into this.
Connie Urbanksi-Brown was traveling on I-475 eastbound headed onto I-75 north when the dreaded happened.
"I heard it making a noise before I felt anything and then all of the sudden I could feel where the tire was gone," said Urbanski-Brown.
The driver and police all acknowledge that this happened in a very dangerous spot up on 475. She pulled off the left hand shoulder and called her roadside assistance and was told it would be there in 45 minutes. That's when a Toledo police officer pulled up. She says the officer told her 45 minutes was too long, so he would call their tow.
"I said ‘what's my choice?' He said we can't wait for your tow truck," said Urbanski-Brown.
"It's all situational. What the officer is going to do is make a determination with the factors he has at hand. As far as long we're going to be able to leave that car in that spot before getting our own tow," said Sergeant Joe Heffernan of the Toledo police department.
"I didn't know what to think. I actually started crying at that point because I was frustrated," said Urbanski-Brown.
The police tow report was written at 3:47 and the tow truck left the scene at 4:23, 36 minutes later. Urbanski-brown thinks her tow would have been done by then and it would not have gone to the city impound lot.
Urbanski-Brown ended up paying a bill of $140 dollars. Her company would have been free.
"i felt like i was forced to let the police tow it. I already had a two truck on the way," said Urbanski-Brown.
"Safety first. We're not concerned about the dollars and sense of how much a tow will cost or not cost. We want to make sure we preserve life and property," said Heffernan.
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