Local News
Illegal towing companies waiting for you to get into an accident – NBC Los Angeles
As hundreds of car accidents occur every day in California, scammers are trying to take advantage of drivers who are faced with a stressful situation following a collision.
For Angelina, a driver in Southern California, it was a close call. When she became a victim of a multi-vehicle, hit-and-run collision, as many as three unsolicited tow trucks showed up, insisting that they tow her car.
It first started with a man who pulled over, claiming to have seen the crash.
“The guy was like, ‘I saw the car. I wanted to get your information, so I can be a witness,’” Angelina, who declined to give her last name, described.
The driver said, within minutes, people began calling the contact number she provided, claiming to be a representative from a roadside assistance program. The car Angelina was driving was not under any roadside assistance program.
“(The caller) said, ‘We are sending an emergency tow. We’ll take it to an insurance-approved body shop,’” Angelina recalled, saying when she asked where the body shop would be located, the person could not give her an answer.
Eventually when a California Highway Patrol officer arrived at the crash site, one of the two drivers rushed off as the officer asked for license and insurance information, Angelina said.
She also said the first tow truck, whose driver insisted on taking her car, didn’t have truck insurance, according to the CHP.
“This is a tow scam,” the officer told her. “If you had let them take your car right now, you most likely wouldn’t have it anymore. It would end up in a junkyard or they would hold it for ransom.”
NBC4’s I-Team has investigated predatory towing practices where tow trucks find out about accidents, often by listening to police scanners, show up, and claim to have been dispatched by auto insurers then pressure people into allowing their cars to be towed.
Gladys, a scam victim that the I-Team spoke with in 2019, said a tow company took her car to a body shop that was 20 miles away without working with her insurance. That cost her nearly $1,000.
And the I-Team learned body shops where the cars are towed are also often in on the scam, charging drivers outrageous, even illegal fees to get their cars back.
The CHP warned that officers will always come if called to a crash on a highway. They will also link drivers to reputable tow services who will have the driver’s information when they arrive.
“If you’re involved in a crash out of nowhere, there’s a tow truck sitting behind you. And they’re offering to get you off the freeway, they want to move fast, they want to do things before anything happens, they think they could do it cheaper than anyone else. That’s possibly one of those scab toes, so make sure you beware,” the CHP said.
Local News
Driver killed in crash off freeway into El Monte riverbed – NBC Los Angeles
A driver died late Wednesday in a crash off a freeway and into a concrete structure in an El Monte riverbed.
The driver was ejected in the crash, reported just before midnight near the eastbound 10 Freeway and Santa Anita Avenue. The car flew off the freeway and into the Rio Hondo Watershed, ending up on top of the concrete structure.
The driver was later found in the wash. They died at the scene.
Details about the driver’s identity and what led to the crash were not immediately available.
Local News
Video released in domestic assault case of former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías – NBC Los Angeles
The violent incident involving former MLB pitcher Julio Urías has surfaced, revealing troubling behavior that may have ended his baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A 72-second recording by a bystander obtained by the LA Times and California Highway Patrol shows the moments the former MLB pitcher lost his cool.
In the video, Urías is seen charging at two women, one of whom is believed to be his wife. He grabs her and slams her against a fence, while multiple bystanders rush to intervene. Urias also takes a swing at her, cursing in Spanish.
This alarming incident occurred last September outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles after an LAFC game. Following the event, Urías was arrested, and the video aligns with the initial police report from that day.
Urías later pled no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation and required to complete a domestic violence counseling program, among other conditions. The Dodgers responded by placing him on administrative leave, and he has not played since, remaining a free agent.
Major League Baseball is currently conducting its own investigation and has not yet commented on the newly released video.
However, the footage has led some fans to conclude that Urías should not be allowed to play professional baseball again.
“He lost his opportunity by putting his hands on a woman. No man should ever put his hands to hit a woman,” said Dodgers fan Eddie Garcia.
Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was arrested Sunday on suspicion of domestic violence, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
This marks the second domestic violence incident involving Urias. In 2019, he faced a suspension for reportedly pushing a woman to the ground in a parking lot, though he was not criminally charged in that case.
Local News
Boat goes up in flames in Marina del Rey – NBC Los Angeles
Fire crews were working to put out flames coming from a yacht docked in Marina del Rey.
The 100-foot vessel was engulfed in flames, coming from inside the cabin.
The call came in at around 8:30 p.m. of a vessel burning at 2201 Basin A in Marina del Rey, according to the LA County Fire Department.
It’s unclear what ignited the fire and if any people were injured.
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