Tow truck drivers work 24/7, pull vehicles out of ditches - KWWL.com

Tow truck drivers work 24/7, pull vehicles out of ditches and drifts

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Written by Shelley Russell, Multimedia Journalist - bio | email
Multiple cars slid off Ridgeway Ave. in Cedar Falls. Multiple cars slid off Ridgeway Ave. in Cedar Falls.
A truck stuck in a ditch off Highway 63 in Cedar Falls. A truck stuck in a ditch off Highway 63 in Cedar Falls.
Jesse Burke pulls car off the shoulder of Ridgeway Ave. in Cedar Falls. Jesse Burke pulls car off the shoulder of Ridgeway Ave. in Cedar Falls.
WATERLOO (KWWL) -

Tow truck drivers have been working around the clock since snow started to fall Wednesday.

Jesse Burke has been a tow truck driver for years. He worked a 12-hour shift Thursday with Ray Mount Wrecker Service in Waterloo.

"Most people don't want to be a tow truck driver," he said. "It's either in your blood or it's not"

Burke said the majority of his calls early on were semi trucks that had jack-knifed on Interstate 380.

He said white out conditions made travel extremely difficult.

Ray Mount Wrecker Service, a 24-hour tow company, reported two to three hour wait times across Eastern Iowa all day. Its five wreckers pulled out more than 40-vehicles on Thursday.

Burke recommended drivers take it slow and keep a safe distance between other vehicles.

"If you don't have to go out, you shouldn't," he said.

Travel was not advised for most of the state on Thursday.

Current road conditions reported by the Iowa DOT can be found here or by calling 511 on a cell phone.

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