Massport's Tow Trucks Do Their Own Damage (Boston Globe)
09-14-2001, 07:05 AM
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Massport's Tow Trucks Do Their Own Damage (Boston Globe)
By Corey Dulling, Globe Correspondent, Globe Staff, 9/14/2001
EVERE - It was only car trouble, after all. But Mary Lynn Schaalman of North Andover couldn't bear this new hassle - not after what she'd been through the last few days.
Schaalman came to Suffolk Downs yesterday to retrieve her car, which had been towed Wednesday from Logan International Airport's parking garage. After wandering through 2,400 parked cars, she found her Volvo station wagon - only to discover the rear suspension had been damaged by the towing and she couldn't drive it away.
''I wish I could have gotten it myself,'' said Schaalman, who had flown to New York and was just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center when the towers were destroyed by terrorists Tuesday. ''The tow trucks were in a hurry. They didn't care.''
She wasn't alone. Dozens of drivers reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Port Authority's emergency towing operation, carried out by a fleet of tow trucks in just a few hours, caused problems. Some drivers said their cars were scratched and dented, others said they couldn't start them at all. One driver said her automobile's oil pan was ripped from the engine when it was towed; another reported major front-end damage.
Though Massport said it would pay for repairs, drivers were further angered by what they said was the haphazard manner in which cars were stored.
Some cars, removed and marked when taken from the garage and taken to Suffolk Downs, weren't where they were supposed to be. And drivers complained they couldn't find their vehicles in the enormous expanse of autos or were directed to the wrong lot.
Massport spokesman Phil Orlandella said yesterday he didn't know how many of the towed cars were damaged. He said Massport would pay for any towing-related damage if owners filed claims.
''Any damage, we will repair,'' he said. ''We towed the cars, so we're responsible.''
Orlandella said drivers with complaints should fill out special forms at the Suffolk Downs lot. They will also receive instructions on how to get reimbursement for damages.
Orlandella estimated at least 50 tow trucks from area agencies were used to remove cars from Logan, making it nearly impossible to figure out which truck moved which car.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks, Massport removed all cars from the Logan garage as a security precaution. Yesterday was the first day owners could come to claim them.
Drivers who needed immediate repairs to get their cars off the lot were given the option of free towing and shuttle service to a nearby repair shop.
Though one man, who spent at least a half-hour scuffling through Suffolk Downs's dirt parking lot under the hot sun, understood the need to make sure the Logan garage was safe, ''A lot of people, I think, were overestimating the procedure. I think they thought they could come down here and just give them their license plate number and they'd have a grid or something,'' he said.
Despite the car woes, most drivers tried to keep things in perspective.
Schaalman, a human resources consultant, said damage to her car probably happened because it was towed the wrong way. Though she's not happy about the upcoming repairs, ''the fact that my car is not driveable is trivial'' compared to the events of the last few days in New York and Washington. Schaalman, for one, was waiting to hear if a friend was trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Joe Green of Sudbury, whose car had some dents, also tried to keep the matter in perspective.
''It's a small inconvenience,'' he said. ''I'm getting my car back. Others have lost their lives.''
EVERE - It was only car trouble, after all. But Mary Lynn Schaalman of North Andover couldn't bear this new hassle - not after what she'd been through the last few days.
Schaalman came to Suffolk Downs yesterday to retrieve her car, which had been towed Wednesday from Logan International Airport's parking garage. After wandering through 2,400 parked cars, she found her Volvo station wagon - only to discover the rear suspension had been damaged by the towing and she couldn't drive it away.
''I wish I could have gotten it myself,'' said Schaalman, who had flown to New York and was just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center when the towers were destroyed by terrorists Tuesday. ''The tow trucks were in a hurry. They didn't care.''
She wasn't alone. Dozens of drivers reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Port Authority's emergency towing operation, carried out by a fleet of tow trucks in just a few hours, caused problems. Some drivers said their cars were scratched and dented, others said they couldn't start them at all. One driver said her automobile's oil pan was ripped from the engine when it was towed; another reported major front-end damage.
Though Massport said it would pay for repairs, drivers were further angered by what they said was the haphazard manner in which cars were stored.
Some cars, removed and marked when taken from the garage and taken to Suffolk Downs, weren't where they were supposed to be. And drivers complained they couldn't find their vehicles in the enormous expanse of autos or were directed to the wrong lot.
Massport spokesman Phil Orlandella said yesterday he didn't know how many of the towed cars were damaged. He said Massport would pay for any towing-related damage if owners filed claims.
''Any damage, we will repair,'' he said. ''We towed the cars, so we're responsible.''
Orlandella said drivers with complaints should fill out special forms at the Suffolk Downs lot. They will also receive instructions on how to get reimbursement for damages.
Orlandella estimated at least 50 tow trucks from area agencies were used to remove cars from Logan, making it nearly impossible to figure out which truck moved which car.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks, Massport removed all cars from the Logan garage as a security precaution. Yesterday was the first day owners could come to claim them.
Drivers who needed immediate repairs to get their cars off the lot were given the option of free towing and shuttle service to a nearby repair shop.
Though one man, who spent at least a half-hour scuffling through Suffolk Downs's dirt parking lot under the hot sun, understood the need to make sure the Logan garage was safe, ''A lot of people, I think, were overestimating the procedure. I think they thought they could come down here and just give them their license plate number and they'd have a grid or something,'' he said.
Despite the car woes, most drivers tried to keep things in perspective.
Schaalman, a human resources consultant, said damage to her car probably happened because it was towed the wrong way. Though she's not happy about the upcoming repairs, ''the fact that my car is not driveable is trivial'' compared to the events of the last few days in New York and Washington. Schaalman, for one, was waiting to hear if a friend was trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Joe Green of Sudbury, whose car had some dents, also tried to keep the matter in perspective.
''It's a small inconvenience,'' he said. ''I'm getting my car back. Others have lost their lives.''
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