Towing company starts up, aims to help people in distress
Published 10:43 am Monday, December 14, 2015
Brady Flatness, left, and Chad Schaper with Crossroads Towing train Saturday on pulling a car out of the ditch. Crossroads Towing has been in business since Nov. 1. – Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
A new towing company started last month in Albert Lea with the hopes of helping area residents in need of assistance on the road.
Wanda Weigel, dispatcher for Crossroads Towing, said she had worked for Wayne’s Towing for 12 years and her husband, Doug, for about 20, when Wayne’s closed and businessman Curtis Smith decided to open a new towing company.
They weren’t ready to give up working in the industry, so when the opportunity came to work for Crossroads Towing, they jumped on board.
Brady Flatness watches as a car is pulled out of a ditch on Saturday. – Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Wayne’s Towing closed at the end of July, and Crossroads Towing opened Nov. 1, Smith said.
‘“It’s been my life for so many years, I’m used to it,” Weigel said.
Wanda said there are seven drivers, and she is the 24/7 dispatcher. She also works in home health care Mondays through Fridays.
Several of the former Wayne’s Towing drivers are drivers for Crossroads Towing, along with some of the employees from Red Carpet Car Wash, one of Smith’s other businesses. One of the employees is new to the towing business.
Smith said he has always wanted something that could piggyback off of his Red Carpet Car Wash business, and this seemed like a good fit.
Weigel said there presently aren’t any towing providers in Albert Lea that accept roadside assistance through AAA and other insurance providers. The company hopes to get set up with these different roadside assistance programs.
In addition to towing, it provides winching, jumpstarts, unlocks, tire changes and fuel deliveries.
“It’s a fun service,” Weigel said. “It’s a fun job. We enjoy helping people and we take pride in our work.”
In addition to towing, Crossroads Towing offers other services, such as jumpstarts and unlocks. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
She said for the smaller services such as jumpstarts and unlocks, the company sticks mainly to the Freeborn County area, but it will tow anywhere — even outside of the county. Weigel noted they recently took a vehicle to Chicago.
Smith said it has been fun getting to know a lot of new people.
“It is a satisfying job because you get to help people in distress,” he said.
Crossroads Towing can be found at 412 Morningside Road in Albert Lea. It can be reached at 373-2878.
