Tow Truck Funeral Procession for Phil Smith

Tuesday, 8 February 2022 05:50

Photo Credit: In loving memory of Phillip Smith GoFundMe page

Over 50 tow trucks will be taking part in a funeral procession from Tillsonburg to Delhi this Saturday morning for a local driver who was killed on the job last month.

DELHI - Tow truck drivers will be going from Tillsonburg to Delhi to commemorate a local operator who was killed on the job.

Phil Smith has worked in the towing industry in Norfolk and Oxford for a number of years. The father was hit and killed while helping a motorist on Highway 417 near Arnprior on January 17th. A GoFundMe for his surviving family members has raised over $28,000. He leaves behind two small children and all donations will be allocated to his children's future and expenses.

Mike Dean of Advanced Towing is organizing the procession of tow truck drivers. He says when he first heard the news, he didn't think too much of it. He knows all too well the dangers associated with the job.

"When it first came through and I read it on Facebook and it was an Ottawa area man was killed while operating a tow truck and my reaction, was well there is another death, because a tow truck driver dies doing their job every 6 days. Then it clicked in, like oh my god, that is Phil, that is the Phil we know, he used to come into the shop all the time, he would often bring his young son. I was in shock."

Dean had known Phil for several years. He is organizing this procession to honour his memory. This is not associated with any other protests going on, as it may look that way when you see a lineup of tow trucks. Motorists are asked to treat this like a funeral procession and please pull over when you see them coming.

Dean says they have 50 tow truck drivers signed up already and anyone is welcome to come and join.

"We are going to pass the funeral home and everyone is going to honk their horns and then the rest of the group will go to the German Hall. Two of my trucks will go to the funeral and our trucks will transport Phil from the funeral home to the German Hall and then when we are done at the German Hall, the last ride home to his mom's house."

Dean says they also want to raise awareness about the Move Over law.

"Because every one of us service providers on the roads, whether it is a police officer, tow truck, fireman, even a service truck switching a tire on the side of the road, all want to go home to our wives, our kids, our grandkids."

They will leave the Norfolk Mall in Tillsonburg on at around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The plan is to meet at 9:00 a.m. and then head down Highway 3, past the funeral home and Phil's moms house in Delhi.

You can donate to the GoFundMe page online here.