CAA investigating after tow truck operator calls police on stranded family

CAA has launched an investigation after a tow truck operator called the police on a Pickering family whose car broke down. As Faiza Amin reports, the family alleges the driver was verbally abusive to them while the driver claims it was the other way around.

By Faiza Amin

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has launched an investigation after a tow truck operator called police on a Black Pickering family, leaving them stranded on the side of the road last weekend, nearly two hours away from their home.

Part of a confrontation was captured on camera, moments before police arrived and after the family said the driver had been verbally abusive towards them. CAA claims it was the other way around.

Brianne Smith says the CAA operator left the scene before police arrived, alleging that prior to their altercation he was growing increasingly “irate, aggressive and verbally abusive” during the service call that lasted less than one hour, repeatedly screaming at her mother and 80-year-old grandmother.

“It was a complete abuse of power,” Smith said. “He just wanted to inconvenience my family. He was comfortable with leaving us on the side of the road right from the beginning.”

Part of the altercation was posted to the 29-year-old’s Instagram page which appears to show her confronting the driver, repeatedly telling the employee, “I thought you were calling the cops.”

Smith also questioned why he was refusing to tow the vehicle, telling him he’s going to be fired and his face will be in the news. That’s when the uniformed CAA employee can be seen aggressively walking towards her, screaming for her to “F*** off and get away from me now.”

“I was wearing a mask, and he charged towards me without wearing a mask, and he’s using profane language,” Smith said.

Smith said she was not the aggressor in this situation, and the 45-second video doesn’t tell the whole story of how the CAA employee had been treating them prior to this interaction. She says she only said these things to him during the recording towards the end.

She added when they reached the checkpoint, he was shouting at them to leave his car even though they told him her grandmother was having a hard time getting out.

“What prompted me to start rolling was the fact that we had taken all that abuse moments prior to this situation,” she said. “The way he spoke to my grandma, yelling at my grandma, yelling at my mom. Using curse words.”

At that point, the operator contacted the other tow truck driver who was transporting the vehicle, telling him they would not be transporting the vehicle

CityNews has been in contact with a spokesperson for CAA South Central Ontario since late Wednesday evening, requesting a statement or interview in response to what happened. The initial statement from the company stated that the incident was regrettable, and they were looking to reach out to the member to resolve the issue.

The spokesperson claims the family took issue with the fact CAA would not drive them home due to COVID-19 restrictions, that they would therefore have to pay their own cab fare and that their tow was cancelled due to their “harassing behaviour.”

On Friday, the company requested an in-person interview with CityNews.

“That dispute escalated and the driver felt he was being called names and harassed,” said Tony Tsai, vice-president of Corporate Communications and Services with CAA South Central Ontario. “He was trying to help them to keep them safe and felt that they were treating him in a manner that was troubling.”

Tsai called the video disturbing, noting that it was an isolated incident but said the driver’s behaviour was “normal” in the vehicle. He also called him a good driver, adding there have never been complaints about him.

Smith called those claims false and they were not verbally harassing or demeaning the driver, adding that they were okay to pay for the cab ride but were inquiring because under other circumstances, transportation would have been provided.

Rather she adds, the CAA operator became irate because they were asking this question.

“He yelled to get the F out of my car,” Smith said. “He turned around and screamed in my mom and grandma’s face, like get out of my car. He’s screaming at them and threatening to call the police.”

At 9:41 p.m., CAA said the tow supervisor, who was “traumatized,” called the dispatcher who then authorized that the call be canceled.

Shortly after, at 9:53 p.m., the tow supervisor called back to explain the situation and “cancel the call.” Five minutes later, at 9:58 p.m. the member, Smith’s mother, called CAA because the family saw their vehicle being unloaded while driving by in their taxi.

Smith adds that the driver wouldn’t communicate to her where her vehicle would be dropped off, neither did the company and they only found out by “fluke.”

That’s also the time the OPP were called by the operator.

“I don’t know how three women, one extremely elderly with a bad knee can come off as threatening,” Smith said. “We were with him for all of five minutes. It didn’t make any sense.”

Tsai said they were going to inform the family of where their vehicle was being taken and arrange for a new tow, but the family called them first. He also adds they were arranging for another tow operator to come to the scene but then cancelled that call. The family claims they were never told of this.

In one of the email responses, the spokesperson had also said the family was yelling at the second driver and calling him names.

Tsai has since clarified, saying that the driver just “witnessed” their interaction at the lot.

He added the operator called police to de-escalate the situation, something the company empowers drivers to do in situations.

“He was losing control of the scene,” Tsai said. “So he wanted to call for some assistance.”

The OPP tells CityNews officers have spoken with both parties and they will not be investigating.

However, CAA has now launched an investigation, which included interviewing both drivers and said they will also be speaking with the family to get their side and ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“This was not an outcome we were happy with,” Tsai said. “We would never cancel a service on anyone for no good reason. So we really want to learn from this.”

Smith said they paid $600 for another tow truck company to pick up their vehicle at the lot.

“In a gesture of good will,” the company said they are offering to reimburse those fees.

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