Highway Thru Hell Season 1 Episode 5
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00:00Accidents all over the place.
00:02This time, on the highway through hell.
00:05Oh, it's slippery.
00:06An old rival turns up the heat.
00:08You're out of bed.
00:09They're all chrome and gleam.
00:11I'm a work truck.
00:12I just hate to see them around you.
00:14And takes a job from Jamie.
00:16Acquiring's got it.
00:17It's money right out of my pocket.
00:19Take that, James.
00:21And the new recruit.
00:22If it involves a tow truck, there's nothing that I can't do.
00:27Faces a harsh reality.
00:29The only people that care about tow truck drivers
00:31is tow truck drivers.
00:32Wow, wow, wow, wow.
00:34In the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest,
00:37there's a highway like no other.
00:39The Coca-Cola is an engineering marvel.
00:42But when the weather turns bad...
00:45Let's out!
00:46It's like the Bermuda Triangle of truck accidents.
00:49Keeping the Coke open takes an army.
00:51When the highway shuts down, the world shuts down.
00:54And a last line of defense.
00:56A heavy rescue team ready to tackle any disaster.
01:01Because here, closure is not an option.
01:05But it's a perfect shock.
01:06Let's do it.
01:08It's noticeable when there's strong allies.
01:10I mean we lost idiots in the mad espacio.
01:12Let's change the day and find the way that's going to be real.
01:15If you kampus.
01:16Yes, we'll do that.
01:17See you next week.
01:18It is your room.
01:19To be made for the MARK companies.
01:20That's just your dog-made designs.
01:21It's Fahr psych III.
01:22A vicious winter storm has turned the Coquihalla Highway into a war zone.
01:49Trucks and cars are spinning out on Snowshed Hill, while the stranded drivers wish they
02:03were anywhere but here, there's one man on the mountain who couldn't be happier.
02:17Adam Gazzola has been patrolling the Coquihalla Highway since he was a teenager, always itching
02:24to get that next big job on the hook.
02:26I'm always scared somebody else is going to beat me there and scoop me on the job.
02:31For Adam, this is more than just a job.
02:34Some people smoke dope or drink booze.
02:38I just towed.
02:41And that's my rush.
02:45Last year, Adam was the undisputed king of the hill.
02:49His Heavy Rescue 52 made more money than any other truck in Jamie's fleet.
02:54Adam is highly competitive.
02:56He will push his weight around.
02:58You send him out on the job, he's getting the job.
03:03But this season, Adam is no longer the only big gun on the mountain.
03:12Trouble on the mountain has attracted the attention of the green wrecker run by Al Quiring.
03:18Yeah, 10-4.
03:19I'm still fired up about it actually.
03:21It gets my blood going.
03:22I don't believe he should be here.
03:24This isn't his area.
03:25He should stay down in the valley and tow with the other down there as far as I'm concerned.
03:29But he keeps coming up here because he's got no work.
03:31Al lives a 90-minute drive from the Coquihalla Highway.
03:38This is not his backyard.
03:40Today's the day.
03:41My toe is tingling.
03:43Maybe we'll get a five or a six truck jackknife.
03:46Al is notorious for his antics.
03:50We're about getting down the hill here on a two-lanning highway.
03:54He's kind of off in his own world.
03:56Coquihalla is making him go crazy this year.
03:59He's willing to take bigger risks than just about anyone to scoop a job.
04:04Me, my big old Vulcan wrecker, my snop on tools.
04:08What else could a guy want?
04:09Just a little snop.
04:12But Al is no newcomer to mountain towing.
04:16I liken it kind of to the Hatfield McCoys.
04:19Their family's been in it for I think three generations and ours has been in it for this.
04:23We're just coming on to our third generation.
04:25We've been competing in the towing industry for that long.
04:30And with a family rivalry going on three decades, there's more than enough bad blood to go around.
04:37It gets the hair stands up on the back of your neck if Al's getting you on a job.
04:41Adam just goes through the roof.
04:44He'll be talking about it for three days and phoning me up and Al got us and blah, blah, blah.
04:48And so I don't only get scooped by Al, but I also hear it from our own guys.
04:53Their way of doing business couldn't be more different.
04:58Al is a one-man band willing to travel long distances to pick off the best jobs.
05:05Jamie has spent millions of dollars to base his yard out of the town of Hope right at the entrance to the Cope.
05:16You're out of bed!
05:18Woo-hoo!
05:20Rising up!
05:21As far as Jamie's crew is concerned, the Cope is their turf and Al is a poacher.
05:26He doesn't like the way we do it.
05:28I don't like the way he does it.
05:30They're all chrome and gleam.
05:32I'm a work truck.
05:33Their trucks are always shiny.
05:35My truck is dirty because I'm working all the time.
05:39Al has the mentality that the whole world is his turf.
05:43I see there's another wrecker going by right there.
05:46And I don't know if he's coming for this one or not, and I don't really care.
05:50He's up here on the Cope trying to scoop us.
05:56I just hate to see him around here.
06:00What would you rather pay for, ten men or one guy that works like ten men?
06:05How about that?
06:07Take that, James!
06:13Al has good reason to be cocky.
06:16Jamie's number one truck is down.
06:19The new three-quarter-of-a-million-dollar rotator has been benched by a 50-cent part.
06:27That's a PTO gasket that fits on the air shifter for the PTO that engages and disengages the winch mechanism for the truck.
06:37When that gasket leaks, the tranny fluid leaks out.
06:41So the truck had to be shut down because had you kept going, you would have been buying a new tranny.
06:48Jamie may have saved the transmission, but at the height of the season, the rotator is still stuck in the shop.
06:55When it's snowing, you have to go out there and catch as much fish as you can.
07:00Having any truck down and not being available to make whatever scrap of money you can make is tough.
07:13Just after lunch, a trucking company calls for help over the radio.
07:17Just had a call. He needs to be pulled out because he is stuck.
07:26For Al, the chance to pull a fully loaded tanker out of a ditch sounds like a good payday.
07:34It was a 35-foot tanker trailer with a load of ethanol in it.
07:39He spun out and got himself over on the edge of the road.
07:43It's a job that on any other day would go to Jamie Davis.
07:46Just like a hunter that gets to the field first, he shoots the buck.
07:55Yeah, 10-4, thank y'all.
07:58Back at his shop, Jamie is still cooling his heels, waiting on a part.
08:04So, you just hear that?
08:06No.
08:07That job up by Apex or whatever?
08:09Yeah, what happened?
08:10Quiring's got it.
08:11Really?
08:13How do you know that?
08:14I have friends in higher places.
08:17Two of Al's trucks went to town, went through town, heading out when I was coming out here to see you about your...
08:23They were heading out?
08:24Yeah.
08:25To both of these trucks.
08:26Really?
08:27Yeah.
08:36The place we're going to is right up on the mountain there.
08:39If you see the buildings up on that rock face, right behind the clouds now.
08:43For a guy who lives on the edge of Vancouver, the remote call is a long way off his regular trapline.
08:52We're in cougar country, not the ones with money.
08:57We're talking about the four-legged furry ones.
09:00To reach the wreck, Al has to navigate his heavy wrecker up a narrow gravel road.
09:06Always drive like nobody is ever going to come and save you and you'll be okay.
09:09Here's our guy right here.
09:15When the rig spun out, the driver tried to back down the hill.
09:20It was too icy, slid into the ditch.
09:23And just couldn't get out of it.
09:25Drive it a couple times.
09:26Before I get too far in the ditch, we stopped.
09:28The tanker is hauling methanol, an explosive fuel destined for a mine located at the top of the mountain.
09:37The truck is now near its tipping point.
09:41If it flips over, we'll have a chemical spill and then that's not good.
09:48Arrow hook on the far side and get it turned.
09:51Just leave your brakes on until you turn a bit.
09:54If Al isn't careful, the tanker could topple over.
09:57Just leave your brakes on.
10:11Oh, it's slippery.
10:22Al gets the tanker out of the ditch.
10:24But he decides to stick around.
10:27We take off and peel out of here.
10:29Chances are in the next corner he's going to have a problem.
10:34Al leads the tanker up the icy road.
10:39On one side of them, a cliff drops straight down to the valley below.
10:43So he's careful to keep his speed to a crawl.
10:51They make it through three sharp curves.
10:52But just before they round the last bend, the tanker spins out.
10:53They make it through three sharp curves.
10:54But just before they round the last bend, the tanker spins out.
10:55That guy might be stuck on that last corner.
10:56That guy might be stuck on that last corner.
10:57I think we're going to have to go on the other side.
10:58That guy might be stuck on that last corner.
10:59That guy might be stuck on that last corner.
11:00I think we're going to have to go on the other side.
11:01I think we're going to have to go on the other side.
11:02Pull that bad boy out.
11:03That guy might be stuck on that last corner.
11:16I think we're going to have to go on the other side.
11:29the hill is too much for the tanker the only way to get it up is to tow it
11:38on the coke it's a routine job the road there is wide and a tow-up is easy
11:49I'll make some sparks but out here in the middle of nowhere the high mountain switchbacks are a
11:57whole other story
12:15it's been a bad day for Jamie Davis a blown 50-cent gas has sidelined his three-quarter
12:23of a million-dollar rotator now a big job has been scooped up by his longtime rival
12:30Al Quiring I'm an only guy up here and I got the road open all day long no problem but hooking up
12:37a loaded methanol tanker on a mountain backroad here we go guys turns out to be a hand let's get
12:46this guy to the top of the hill it's a routine job back on the highway but on a high mountain
12:55switchback it's a big gamble recently in Norway a heavy wrecker tried this move in broad daylight
13:08but the semi being towed caught a wheel and dragged the wrecker over the edge
13:14incredibly both drivers survived there's no point in fooling around let's get up there now Al has to pull off
13:37this same move here in similar terrain and in the pitch black think you're done that's just when
13:43things are getting good even with a horsepower of both trucks working together and Al's 12-wheel drive
13:53they barely make it 50 yards before they run into trouble
14:06like old man winter's trying to hang on to that trailer so we can't get towed up the hill
14:10but Al backs off on the power and nurses the two trucks at the slippery road
14:16his patience pays off after 45 minutes they finally reach the top the mine gets its delivery and Jamie's
14:35biggest competitor chocks up a win nothing wrecked nothing hurt more importantly nothing leaking
14:42down in the yard Jamie is impatient for his rotator to get back in the game and the news of Al's victory
14:57last night isn't helping the competition is on your heels all the time if you're not being competitive
15:05and you're not you know moving forward with equipment and guys you're gonna die
15:10lately more cars have been using the cocahola pass and that means more small wrecks to keep up with
15:19the new calls Jamie hired greenhorn Rob to do the lighter duty toes change too long oh this isn't good
15:29so I drag it like that up and then flip it up here but that hasn't gone so well no but I went to pull it
15:38out though and it wouldn't come get a sledgehammer out of my truck out of the box yeah give it a tap
15:43because it's frozen it's like you know what I don't know what I'm doing here maybe I should just cut my
15:49losses so to fill out his roster Jamie has hired a more experienced driver Ken Monkhouse I've been riding
15:57around in tow trucks for 34 years I have experience in all types of tolling if it involves a tow truck
16:03there's nothing that I can't do Jamie recruited Ken in Vancouver where only the strong survive in the
16:09dog-eat-dog world of city towing Ken understands competition he understands who's on his back and
16:15who's coming for him and he's following that game pretty big whereabouts on the cocahola are you going
16:20my friends are wondering he's uh you know that shark that's gonna go out and get that car and bring
16:25that business in here five hours on location it's all about competition it's all about winning you
16:33have to go out there every day and win win win win win no matter what the cost keep me going keep me
16:38rocking I'll work for three days straight if I have to Jamie has high hopes for his new driver if only
16:44Ken can can survive his first season on the coke lots of truck drivers flying by at high speed I'm not
16:55going to go back into Vancouver with my tail between my legs and say I couldn't cut it it's not an option
17:03higher up on the coke Adam is on the prowl
17:06after the snow flies you can't you can't sit on your ass and expect to make money you got to be out
17:16there hustling up work you got to be listening to the radio he's determined not to let Al take another
17:24job now I was trying to scoop us you're just really rough to the wrong way but Al's not on the mountain
17:33he's pulling into Jamie's yard to drop off his new brochure
17:38well there's parked my truck you sucked up all the business today it's like a big vacuum get reports
17:51back all down the line Al's already there beeping to it works harder you suck up more working all
18:01way to my guys put together bring her on this is winter let's get on with it this has been going
18:07on for generations it's money right out of my pocket but while Al is rubbing it in Adam is still working
18:20the coke and his persistence pays off at 9 40 p.m. the coke is shut down when three semis tangle up and
18:36jackknife Adam is the first wrecker on the scene
18:40both southbound lanes are completely blocked
18:53the truck for that trailer is actually spun around still hooked to it yeah
18:56I'll have to swing it right around over to here regardless highway authorities ask Adam to drag the
19:03wrecks to the side to get one lane open right away so as soon as we've got single-lane traffic we'll just
19:09shut her down and get the traffic out okay this highways guys pretty antsy to getting her going so
19:15because the rotator is still down Adam had to call Hugo in one of the smaller trucks to help so I'm just
19:23going to tear this thing around and get it off to the side but the highway rep doesn't think that's
19:30enough firepower so he calls up the competition as soon as Al Quirin gets here Al Quirin with heavy
19:42rescues best truck down Adam is working shorthanded on the coke as soon as Al Quirin gets here and the
19:50highway rep has called Adam's nemesis Al Quirin hoping to speed things up ideas to get this red truck out of
19:57the way Jamie's gonna tow it down that way out of the way the next truck Al Quirin should get it
20:03tow that away and then we got single-lane traffic the last guy Adam wants on this job is Al just don't
20:15want him to get the job that's my job just have a competitive nature and I want to be the one doing
20:21it all it's my mandate is to get the road open it's always the way and if it upsets some people
20:28with to that I need just to pull up out of the way there you go okay Adam and his crew race to
20:35clear the mess before Quirin's green wrecker arrives and Hugo can you grab the front of that truck and
20:44spin it around now just spin it right around to be able to okay okay don't worry about your boom just
20:56keep winching we're just gonna get it off the road for now let's get my swing around it'll get
21:02whole Bruce in here he'll hook her right up off of it up to the exit
21:04but 30 minutes later the competition rolls onto the scene turns out Al now has a night shift guy
21:20want a hand Gord Gord is Al Quirin's driver guys like him come and go all the time with Adam on
21:29one jackknife and Gord on the other the race is on to see who can get their wreck off the mountain
21:35first we'll be out of here for the goblin is the idea is to get the road open as soon as possible
21:43you know we'll hold up traffic any longer do we have to I'm gonna yank this nose around I'm gonna pull
21:49the whole thing down the highway the cab on Adam's jackknife is twisted nearly 90 degrees and has become
21:58so wedged in the snowbank that it won't move I can't budget it's got a full load of pulp paper
22:04on there which is extremely heavy and I got to try to pull this thing out get it straightened around
22:12across the road the quiring wreck is also stuck heat from the engine has melted the snow and the
22:21truck is now frozen in place
22:30broken right off the frame so we have to somehow rig that up green goblins having trouble but it's not
22:39going any better for Adam he isn't sure if it's the weight or the snowbank that's holding back the truck
22:46hook that chain on somewhere on the front there around the spring or anything just to get it swung
22:52around the trailer should stay where it is the truck will just come around down the road the highway
23:02rep is losing patience with Gord he's struggling to rig his chains without doing more damage to the semi
23:08we're gonna get that thing out of the way before we can hook it on
23:14Gord gives up on saving the hood he hooks up to the frame and quickly gets the truck free
23:30Adam gets the semi out of the snowbank but he's still far from finishing
23:35well the load's too heavy to go down the hill and they can't dolly off from the trailer because
23:39the landing gear is the cab and trailer are too damaged to be separated but joined together
23:46they're too uncontrollable to safely tow down the mountain tonight
23:51nothing we can do
24:02there will be no victory tonight all Adam can do is leave the wreck in a rest area pullout and head home
24:09it's been a long night on the mountain it's got a full load of pulp paper on there which is extremely
24:19heavy a three semi pileup pitted Adam and Al Quirings trucks head-to-head on the same job
24:27Quirings wrecker completed the job but Adam had to leave a heavy load of pulp in a rest area on the coke
24:35overnight this morning Jamie is heading up to finish last night's recovery the mighty rotator
24:45is back in action
24:46keeping the highway open burgers in progress for safer highways
24:52Jamie's challenge is to lift the trailer off the cab so each can be separately taken down the mountain
25:01I'll get the legs out our biggest competitor the green goblin would never be able to do this kind
25:06of a job he can go up and down the highway and you know yell and scream on the trucker radio and tell
25:11everybody how great he is but at the end of the day he doesn't have the capability or the equipment
25:15hey don't scratch the paint man Jamie prides himself in always having the latest gear is it heavy it's an
25:24obsession that started when he was just a teenager towing for his father's company one day when he
25:31couldn't finish a tow because his old truck broke down Al Quirings dad swooped in to finish the job
25:41Al's dad had beautiful equipment you know way better than what equipment we had you know I was so
25:47embarrassed you know I think I went home and cried about it because it was just so devastating for
25:54me to not be able to do that job
25:59every part of me is driven to have the latest most innovative equipment available and I'm able
26:06to put it together with the most extreme jobs that happen in this area
26:10today Jamie's bet on top-of-the-line gear pays off because the landing gear of the trailer was so mangled
26:20there's no way to unhitch it from the damaged tractor so the trailer needs to be lifted at one end high
26:27enough for a relief truck to back underneath and the only truck that can handle this job is Jamie's
26:35rotator with its swinging crane arm put your pin and you can hold it he'll also be using a new piece of
26:42rigging called a spreader bar spreader bars spread the stress so perfect for what we're doing right here
26:49Jamie will use it to make a sling that will temporarily suspend the trailer take that one
26:57around the other side take your shackle and lay it on the frame with the sling in place he can lift the
27:03heavy trailer off the cab
27:15how we doing
27:18the smashed cab is pulled free and the trailer is ready to rehitch to a new one
27:24that spreader bar works really good got it nice and suspended a relief tractor can back underneath it here
27:31and that's what we want to do we want to solve people's problems here
27:35being able to go and tackle a big job like that
27:39and with the crew we have and with the equipment we have
27:42and make it look like it wasn't nothing
27:45I go home happy really happy
27:54down the hill new driver Ken is in search of cars that need a tow
28:00drive up and down look for somebody that needs some assistance
28:03well find something to put on the back take back down into hope and
28:08maybe find something more
28:11working the coke isn't like the big city towing he's used to
28:16when you're in Vancouver you go to work you call in your truck you get a call you get a call you get a call you get twelve calls in a row
28:21whereas up here it's not like that
28:23you get in your truck and you have to drive around and aggressively actively pursue the work
28:28they've closed their hood they're done doing what they're doing
28:31they're just putting winter watcher fluid in so they don't need me
28:35after years of having jobs handed to him by a dispatcher patrolling the coke is wearing thin
28:46it's not like you're going to work and you're making twenty bucks an hour
28:49you get paid commission so if the wheels aren't rolling and you're not finding anything then you're not making any money
28:55you're just driving around pointlessly
28:57so it seemed kind of to me to be a waste of time
29:00which really got under my skin because I do like to stay busy
29:03after eight frustrating hours without finding a single job
29:08Ken gives up and heads back to the yard
29:11the gamble didn't pay off
29:13if this was a lottery ticket we'd be throwing it in the garbage right now
29:22but not everyone is so easily discouraged
29:25Adam has been working for almost twelve hours
29:28coming up
29:30yeah take it real easy and he's pretty slick
29:33so we're gonna run to the top of the hill
29:35see how much snow is out there
29:38just kind of gauge where we're at for the night
29:43we're a 24 hour business
29:45we don't have enough guys to do shift work
29:48so when you're given that truck you drive that truck 24 hours a day seven days a week
29:53nightfall is the most dangerous time on the mountain
29:56temperatures drop moisture on the road turns to black ice
30:00with none of Jamie's car towing crew on the coke
30:15the light tow jobs are being scooped by the competition
30:18there's no reason why these guys can't come up here and go to work
30:21you know they got good trucks to drive they got fuel sitting in the yard
30:26oh it's stressing me out because other tow companies are getting the work
30:29and when we should be doing it
30:32later that night Adam shares his frustration with the boss
30:37we're only one man each
30:39oh yeah
30:40you can only do so much work right
30:42and we've got all these guys around us who aren't doing it
30:44they're not pulling it
30:45and it's like wow you know
30:47unbelievable man
30:50it's wearing on you it's wearing on me
30:52I think we should bring the guys in and talk to them and see what they think
30:56mm-hmm
31:02they think that somehow they're just gonna be spoon fed whatever work comes in
31:06well you know what you gotta hustle a little bit around here
31:08you gotta know what's going on
31:09it's getting my nerves up
31:11it's getting Adam's nerve
31:12everybody's ticked off
31:13it's like wow these guys aren't even on the planet
31:15the next morning Jamie calls his drivers into the office
31:21what I want to talk about and what we need to talk about around here is our one tons
31:26our car towing
31:28just to put it bluntly it's lame
31:30we've got a lame program going on
31:32I'm sporting the insurance
31:34we're sporting the truck payments and the repairs and all that maintenance and shit like that
31:38and they're entering a car in this yard
31:40and I understand you know nobody wants to go up there and sit up there and do a call
31:45and there's nothing going on
31:46but I mean the guy sitting down here doing a call anyway
31:48so if we go sit up there for eight hours and we get nothing
31:51we're up there for eight hours we don't get paid
31:52so you're gonna sit down here and do a call too and now get paid
31:54this is real Ken
31:55I've got cars in the ditch
31:57I've got the competition towing cars and it's a real thing
31:59it's a real problem
32:00I'm not pointing the finger at you
32:02so have you ever come up to us and said you know what we should get shifts started
32:04so everybody goes up and sit
32:06I've talked to all you guys
32:08said you guys should get up there in the morning
32:09have I not ever told you that?
32:10you told me that you used to sit up there
32:12and you exactly said to me
32:14the last we were having the drink was
32:15I'm gonna start doing that
32:17okay
32:18and have you ever started doing that?
32:19no it was a week ago
32:20so what happened here now?
32:21you know what Ken it's not anything about you
32:23you're getting all defensive about it
32:25we're not pointing the finger at Ken
32:26we're not saying Ken's the problem
32:28okay starting tomorrow
32:29I'll go up there 8 o'clock in the morning
32:30well we should talk about it between the three of us
32:32you get all pricky about it
32:34and that we're trying to roast you or something like that
32:36it's not about that
32:37it's a real problem
32:39and you get all defensive about it
32:40it kind of pisses me off a little bit
32:42I gotta look at it from a business point of view too Ken
32:44I gotta look at it from the dollars and cents
32:46we either gotta straighten it out
32:47or park trucks and take plates off
32:49that's what we gotta do
32:50we have to have a little bit of a reality check here
32:52and a reality check's gonna come up and say
32:54James this ain't working no more buddy
32:56cash isn't here
32:57there's not cash
32:59there's no trucks in the yard
33:00and I'll be forced
33:01it won't even be my own thing
33:02this business will force me to do this
33:06get rid of whatever's sloppy around me
33:13Jamie Davis is frustrated that his newest drivers are not pulling their weight
33:17I got the competition towing cars and it's a real thing
33:20it's a real problem
33:21there's not cash, there's no trucks in the yard
33:23and I'll be forced
33:24it won't even be my own thing
33:25this business will force me to do this
33:30get rid of whatever's sloppy around here
33:32so well enough of that
33:34we won't go on and on about it
33:35so good
33:36Jamie's made his point
33:38he made his point very well
33:39if it doesn't snow though
33:41and there's no work, there's no work
33:42there's no work, there's no work
33:43I have driven up there lots of times during the day
33:45and I've gone all the way to Larson Hill and back
33:47and there hasn't been nothing
33:48I'm new here
33:49so I have to take his advice
33:51and Adam's advice
33:52and Kevin's advice
33:53and roll with it
33:55but before Ken gets a chance to hit the road
33:59he gets a call from Vancouver
34:02go ahead buddy
34:04tow truck friend who I worked with for a couple of years
34:07had been hit on the side of the highway
34:09he was going to lose both legs
34:11he's a fellow tow truck driver
34:13so basically he's a brother
34:15he's me but he's just a different guy
34:18as he heads out to work
34:20the dangers of the job become all too real
34:24if that happened to me
34:26up on the hill
34:27and I got hit and they didn't stop
34:28and I'm lying there bleeding out
34:29I would be dead
34:31in 25 years I've been doing this as a job
34:35I've been crushed, pinned, squished
34:38put a hole in my eyeball
34:40broke the orbital bone
34:41tore my rotator cuff
34:42ripped my bicep off my arm
34:44got crushed
34:45pinned underneath the motor hole
34:47for 45 minutes in the snow
34:49and tonight when it gets cold
34:52and dark
34:53that's gonna be really nasty
34:55under pressure to step up his game
34:58Ken works into the night
35:00the extra effort pays off
35:04when he's the first tow truck on scene
35:06at a nasty wreck
35:08nobody ever wants to see me or Jamie or any of our other guys
35:22but when they need us we show up
35:25that's what we do
35:26that's what we've dedicated our lives to doing
35:28and you know what I'll be 90 years old
35:31nobody will remember me when I came out and changed their tire in a snowstorm
35:33but you know what I did it and I helped somebody get along their way
35:36so he can take some pride in that
35:41when he gets the wreck back to the yard
35:43Jamie radios where it should be unloaded
35:46put that in the bay there too
35:48it has to go in the bay
35:50or you just want it in the bay
35:52because it's going to be a
35:54getting it off
35:55police want it in there
35:56I don't know why but
35:57please make this come off the back of my truck
36:16without hurting anything valuable
36:18thank you
36:20talk to you soon
36:22oh great tow god
36:24okay so we're just going to do one quick shot here
36:33oh no
36:36it's not coming off
36:38it's just sitting there
36:39oh hang on
36:40am I being a moron
36:41I might be being a moron
36:43I could be possibly being a moron
36:47yes I am a moron
36:49forgot to take the winch cable off
36:51a little bit tired
36:53there we go
37:03sweet
37:04mission accomplished
37:06thank you oh great tow god
37:10once again you have blessed me
37:12we have a MBI on highway 5 southbound north of the snow shed
37:25we have freezer valley traffic on route
37:29in the morning a call comes in to clear a wreck at the top of the cove
37:33jackknife call came in
37:35two lanes are blocked
37:36and
37:37uh
37:38the note post
37:39the concrete meridian's been pushed out all over the place
37:42so
37:43Adam took off
37:44we're not going to let Alquiring get there first
37:48tired of being scooped
37:50Adam is a man on a mission
37:52I keep my foot in it anyways I want to make sure I get there before you
37:55I didn't know that you were here I called Quiring
37:57well the police called us so I guess we better cancel Al I guess
38:12I'm sure Alquiring's bad-mouthing us on the radio right now
38:29Adam wins the race to the scene
38:32now he has to get the job done
38:35but the wreck couldn't be in a more dangerous spot
38:42it's trapped on a cement barricade
38:45on one side drivers speed blindly out of a tunnel
38:49on the other side is the slippery bottom of the cove's longest and steepest hill
38:55known to truckers as the smasher
39:00holy
39:02Adam wants to get out of here as fast as he can
39:06oh there's a rescue right there
39:08his first challenge is freeing it from the cement dividers
39:13I need you to hop in there and kind of steer this thing a little bit
39:17I want to get it pull it kind of pull it out from that guardrail you know
39:20no turn eh
39:26what should have been a routine recovery
39:30unhook the cable
39:32has turned into a jigsaw puzzle of concrete blocks
39:36pull on it
39:37okay
39:38okay
39:39okay
39:40get out of there Brendan
39:50sweet
39:51pull on the cable
39:53move these things like six times
39:59after 45 minutes of juggling concrete
40:01no that's good that's good
40:04Adam chalks up a win for Jamie's team
40:07I did the wreck myself and I was coming down the highway with it before Al even got there
40:11it's always funny when you pass them because they got always got their hand on the wheel and they're just looking at you when you're driving by and you're just waving at them and you can just know they're pissed
40:23uh
40:24it's just funny
40:27coming up the high risk of towing
40:29it's painfully close to home
40:31I hear sirens coming
40:33after a long and stressful week Ken finally gets a day off
40:45but it's a day he's been dreading
40:47so we just go down there and see how he's doing
40:53and that's what we're gonna do
40:55Ken is driving to Vancouver to visit an old tow buddy who nearly lost his life on the edge of a highway
41:09lower mainline roads were ugly today
41:13the accident was captured by a local news crew
41:16he was shocked to see this red car had slammed into a
41:19a passing car slammed into the back of a tow truck
41:23Ken's friend was caught in between
41:26the only people that care about tow truck drivers is tow truck drivers
41:41we kinda gotta hang out together
41:43we gotta socialize together
41:45we gotta work together
41:46we gotta watch each other's butt
41:48it could be me laying there in that bed
41:51with no lag
41:52and hopefully people that I know in the towing industry would come and see me
41:55and give me some support
41:57just gonna uh
42:00try and keep my stuff together
42:02and uh
42:03you know
42:04not shed any tears
42:05you know
42:06you know
42:20you know
42:21hey buddy
42:22hey
42:23how are you
42:24well you know
42:25things have changed a little
42:28oh my god
42:29burn
42:30how's this one doing
42:32well I've had five operations on it
42:34holy
42:35i had three last week
42:36wow
42:38wow
42:39wow
42:40wow
42:41i was busted in ten places
42:43gee
42:44i'm on the ground
42:47my leg is gone
42:48my other leg is in like twelve pieces facing the other direction
42:52and there's a car by my head
42:54you stayed conscious through all that
42:56actually i even phoned the dispatch
42:58as i was in survival mode
42:59you stayed conscious through all that
43:01and phoned the frickin dispatcher
43:03i swear to god
43:04i knew you were a tough guy man
43:05but i didn't know you were that frickin tough
43:07but you know i'm gonna survive
43:09i'm gonna get a prosthesis
43:11i don't think i could take it as well as you're taking all this dude
43:14seriously
43:15i mean that's frickin
43:17i'd be a basket case
43:18you know
43:19well it's either you know
43:20it's either i could be moping around
43:21and
43:22or but that's not me
43:23no you gotta be positive
43:24well this is it
43:25this is it
43:26you're like
43:27i know i'll walk again
43:28yeah
43:29it's gonna be a rough road but i'll do it
43:31no more swimsuit model
43:32i love it
43:33no but i'll be swimming
43:34i won't be wearing shorts
43:36surprising what you do when you have to
43:39yeah yeah
43:40to see him still alive and still positive and upbeat
43:43and looking forward to the future with one leg
43:46that's just that's incredibly inspirational
43:50he inspired me to just keep on going and keep towing
43:53and uh
43:54and stay with it and just keep doing the job
43:59so we'll see how that goes
44:07there's no crying in towing
44:08you're not allowed to cry
44:14next time
44:15next time
44:16on the highway through hell
44:18over a foot of snow in two hours
44:20a record setting snowfall
44:22we can't make it up even this little bit of a hill
44:25high hazard
44:26triggers an