AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Countless motorists found themselves having to leave their vehicles stranded as road conditions became nearly impossible to drive through during Monday's blizzard. Some may be in for quite a shock when they return for it.
One Canyon resident had no other choice but to leave his vehicle on the road. When he went back for it, he found out that his jeep had been towed and he was being charged $231.
"I had no idea my car was gone," said Terence Wilhelm. "I'm stuck with a huge fee to pay to get my car out so I can make it to work tomorrow."
Wilhelm states that Canyon Police Department had not tried to locate him to see if he could move it. He didn't even know his car was towed until he went back for it and saw that it was no longer there.
"I was pretty upset by it," said Wilhelm. "I can afford $231 but not everyone else can. It could put a lot of people in a hard spot."
Towing companies like T Miller Wrecker Services states that they have been busy since Monday dealing with stranded motorists.
"It is just horrible," said Jeni Ferril of T Miller Wrecker Services. "I had the phones all day yesterday and I probably on an average had 70 calls waiting all day long."
But she states that most of the calls about stranded vehicles for her company have been from the owner themselves, not the police. She explains that the only time they can typically move a vehicle without the owner's consent is when police ask them to.
"The police really haven't been towing that many away like that,"Ferril explains. "I think they're probably fixin' to start now that the roads are kind of getting better."
For those unfortunate enough to have had their cars towed, Ferril states that it's typically a fine that the towing company has no control over. For T Miller Wrecker, they have a contract with the city and they must charge the contracted rate which starts out at $150.
