Towing firm takes flak over funeral incident in Blacksburg
Blacksburg police were called to help resolve a dispute between Valley Towing and the owner of a vehicle that was being towed — a father who had just attended his son’s memorial service.
Joshua Leonard Carter, a 23-year-old Blacksburg man and Special Olympics competitor, died earlier this month in an accident in which he stepped into traffic on Christiansburg’s North Franklin Street and was hit by a pickup truck.
Read more from Lerone Graham on roanoke.com.
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Towing company still took the parents’ $150.00, didn’t they? Disgusting
and greedy. No justification for that whatsoever.
Comment by P. LYNCH — February 29, 2012 @ 9:08 am
Pathetic! I can’t believe that this occurred….wait a minute, yes I can. Yet another mark against Blacksburg and its atmosphere…we’re supposed to be so welcoming to visitors and new businesses alike, yet this is allowed to occur. Valley Towing should be absolutely ashamed of their behavior. I understand the role they play in assisting business owners but COME ON!!!! A man’s son is DEAD and you make him pay 150$ so you don’t drag his car off into the boonies. They deserve every bad thing ever said about them.
Comment by Cole78 — February 29, 2012 @ 9:26 am
I suspect Valley Towing will be losing a lot more than the $150 they took from the grieving family if the people of Blacksburg boycott them. I would think that as active as this community is, a campaign will soon be launched against both the towing company and the businesses who hire them.
Comment by Joe Henderson — February 29, 2012 @ 11:59 am
No one made the driver get the money from the family, no one made the owner get the driver to get the money . The people who gave valley towing the contract would not make them tow this car, the owner of valley towing is not going to go to jail of he doesnt tow a car .The money shoudl be returned NOW, along with an apology .
I for one will no longer use valley towing in any capacity.
Comment by eric — February 29, 2012 @ 1:06 pm
You really want to clear your name? How about giving that grieving father his $150.00 back. Whats stopping you from doing that? Your greed!!!! It does not matter about who your contract is with. You can still turn around and give his money back along with an apology to him and the public. Blacksburg~I hate the parking. They love making the money as if they are not getting enough….
Comment by Jane — February 29, 2012 @ 1:21 pm
The story concerning this young man who died only gets more heartbreaking. Shame on this towing company, I hope the worst for them, and I sympathize greatly with the man’s father.
The first time I came to Blacksburg, I was towed. I obviously had no clue where to park, and finding parking is not very easy. The lot I parked in was almost empty, I had a rental car with out of state plates, and it wasn’t obvious to me that I would be towed. I even asked some students nearby if it was OK to park where I was and they said it was (apparently they couldn’t tell either). I came back 1/2 an hour later and the car was gone. A cab driver was lingering around the lot in his car, offering me a ride to the tow company — he was probably in on the whole thing.
These towing companies are disgusting, as are the businesses who call in to have cars towed at a drops notice. The Town of Blacksburg needs to pass an ordinance to curb predatory towing, at least during certain hours of the day, and if businesses don’t want people parking there, then they should barricade their lots off from the general public.
Comment by Towed before — February 29, 2012 @ 2:45 pm
Yeah, it sucks, but look at it from the other side. Note that the story says ‘There was “a lot of yelling” throughout the exchange’ with the driver and the police had to be called. I’m familiar with that lot and know that some of those spaces are reserved so people who work downtown have a place to park. Everyone knows parking is horrible in B’burg and if these people can’t park in a reasonable place, they don’t get to work on time (or at all) and they don’t get paid. That space that was blocked was probably one a worker was counting on so he or she could get to a low-paying restaurant job, instead it was taken up by someone who chose to scream at someone else (probably also low paid) who was just doing his job, without knowing that someone should have received special treatment. I’ll bet everyone who has their car towed from downtown has an excuse. Yeah, in this case, hand back the cash, but don’t whine about the tow company doing what it was being paid to do. Perhaps the church should have made other arrangements or told people to park down at the Kent Square garage.
Comment by Joe Hokie — February 29, 2012 @ 2:51 pm
Should be noted that since the car wasn’t towed, tow company can’t charge in excess of $25 for a drop fee.
Comment by Steven — February 29, 2012 @ 5:45 pm
Whenever I go into a business that has a parking lot out front that they can’t use, the business asks me (or has a sign) that says something like, “Did you park out front? Please make sure that you are in a legitimate space!”
I’m guessing that this church has been there for years, and that this is not the first time that this has happened. The church possibly even knew that out of town guests would be there, who wouldn’t know the local parking restrictions. Why wasn’t the pastor or greeter mentioning the parking situation to people as they arrived?
Also, there are very strict laws about the signage required in a lot that will tow on sight. Perhaps checking that signage will provide some relief to these people, or to the church. There have been other articles about insufficient signage resulting in local towing companies having to return a lot of money.
Finally, it would make sense for Valley to return the money. But like a previous poster said, everyone who parks illegally has some great story about why they shouldn’t be towed, even though the sign in front of their car said that they would be.
Comment by Read the signs — March 1, 2012 @ 6:35 am
re: last yrs article on valley towing, I was in town for Christmas shopping and had unknowingly parked in an unmarked space in an empty city lot on a Sunday night. I came out to find my car in the “jaws” of a predatory vulture who refused release without the ransom of $150 cash. Blacksburg, clean up this repulsive practice or lose more shoppers like me as I won’t be back.
Comment by Chris Roth — February 25, 2013 @ 11:32 am