A tow truck procession in William "Tony" Padilla's honor led by the Towing and Recovery Association of Washington (TRAW) will take place Oct. 9 starting at 2:00 p.m.

Padilla was killed in a hit and run accident on I-5, Sept. 24 while working as a tow truck driver. Shavelle Lewis, 20, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter in the case.

Padilla's family will be in attendance. including his brother David and David's wife Lyn, his sisters Carol and Catherine, his mother Ann and brother Peter and nephews Michael (Tawnya) Padilla, Matthew and Jeremiah Lopez all from the Seattle area will be in attendance as well. David will transport his ashes to Arizona and lay him to rest next to dad on his birth date in February.

The event is expected to see more than 75 tow trucks from across the region proceed from Bellevue, westbound across I-90 to a site in Seattle. The Washington State Dept. of Transportation will also have representative vehicles join the procession.

The plans call for all the tow trucks involved to meet at the Bellevue Park n' Ride at 142nd Street n.e. just adjacent to Bellevue Community College between 1:00 p.m and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday Oct 9. The site is capable of holding 1600 vehicles. A map to the destination and black ribbons will be handed out to all drivers. The procession will depart promptly at 2:00 p.m. and travel across Lake Washington on I-90 headed to the Pacific Industrial Center 2960 4th Ave. So. in Seattle.

Mike Walcker, Executive Director of TRAW said, "King County and the Seattle Police Department have indicated that they would participate with our tow companies."

Walcker also stated that Tony's name will be placed in the National Towing Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee on the "Wall of the Fallen" honoring those who have lost their lives in service. "That wall contains more names than almost any you will find that honors those lost in law enforcement," Walcker said.

A public address system will be in place at that location and all those who wish to speak will be able to. "Tony's obituary will be read and the family will have a chance to say thank you at that time, then a 10 or 15 minute memorial for him then everybody will disperse," Walcker said.

An email with full details was sent to a large list on Thursday including all the members of the Towing and Recovery Association of Washington.

Padilla was employed by GT Towing for the last 8 months (though he had previously worked for the firm under different ownership). The current owner John Halberg Jr. said, "I hired him back. He was having a rough time. He really needed a job (...) He was a very respectful guy, very respectful towards women, just an all around great guy. He loved his job and he loved his country."

The Office Manager for the company, Sande Tillett-Hain, said, "He was just a big Teddy Bear. He was always willing to help everybody. His question was always 'What do you need?' (...) He was always really happy doing what he loved to do, which was towing, and this is so totally senseless what happened to him."

Halberg said Tony's truck in the GT Towing lot, was "washed up real good and a lot of people have been coming by and leaving flowers. The Washington State Patrol, the Department of Transportation guys, a lot of the local towing companies (...) a lot of people knew Tony. He worked for a lot of the local tow companies. He kind of made his rounds."

A recent development in the story is that Halberg was contacted by a local law firm to inquire about the company's insurance carrier. The attorney represents the person whose car was being assisted by Padilla at the time of the accident.
Halberg expects he will be sued by that person but at this time it is unclear as to what grounds exist for any kind of lawsuit.

Halberg said, "It's a very risky job," and pointed to the new language added to state law commonly referred to as the "Move Over Law" which states, in part:

"The driver of any motor vehicle, upon approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is making use of audible and/or visual signals or of a police vehicle properly and lawfully displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights, shall:

(1) On a highway having at least four lanes, at least two of which are intended for traffic proceeding in the same direction as the approaching vehicle, proceed with caution and, if reasonable, with due regard for safety and traffic conditions, yield the right of way by making a lane change or moving away from the lane or shoulder occupied by the stationary authorized emergency vehicle or police vehicle; or

(2) If changing lanes or moving away would be unreasonable or unsafe, proceed with due caution and reduce the speed of the vehicle.

The penalty for violating this new law is $101.00."