Wrecker Recoveries Galleries

Two dump trucks collide and flip over in Antioch : The driver of a tractor-trailer dump druck had a heart attack, crossed the center line and side swipped another dump truck on Rt. 173 west of Rt. 59 in Antioch. The two trucks ended up a few 100 yards from each other. Several cars headed for the hills as the truck shot down the road out of control. Wildwood Service was called to the scene to recover the Peterbuilt and Northern Illinois Mack was called to recover there customers Mack.

Two dump trucks collide and flip over in Antioch

The driver of a tractor-trailer dump druck had a heart attack, crossed ...

Updated: Jul 20, 2006 1:01pm PST

Gasoline tanker truck flips over in Gurnee : A semi tanker hauling gasoline rolled onto it's side after taking the I-94 exit ramp to fast onto Route 132 in Gurnee. The tanker slid on it's side ripping a large hole in the tank and spilling a large amount of fuel. Wildwood Service received the call from the Gurnee PD but Ernies Wrecker Service was also called by the State Police due to the accidents location to the Toll-Way(I-94). After waiting for several hour for the tanker to be unloaded, the two companies worked together to quickly upright the semi and clear the scene. Wildwood and Ernies have an excellent working relationship and they help each other out all the time.

Gasoline tanker truck flips over in Gurnee

A semi tanker hauling gasoline rolled onto it's side after taking the ...

Updated: Jul 20, 2006 2:19pm PST

Car & semi collide, semi rolls-over on Rt. 41 : A car full of teenagers turned left onto Route 41 near Gurnee off a side street that is marked for right turns only. The car pulled in front of a semi hauling large bags of wood chips. The truck hit the front of the car causing it to spin around and under the trailer. The trailer tires then hit the rear of the car sending the vehicle into a ditch. The semi then lost control and rolled onto it's side blocking the southbound lanes of Route 41. Wildwood Service was called to the scene and due to the damage the trailer received after sliding down the road, the trailer was unloaded by hand into another trailer supplied by Ernies Wrecker Service. After the trailer was unloaded the Wildwwod crew quickly had the semi back on it's wheels and off the road.

Car & semi collide, semi rolls-over on Rt. 41

A car full of teenagers turned left onto Route 41 near Gurnee off a si ...

Updated: Jul 20, 2006 8:38pm PST

Semi hauling garbage rolls over exiting I-94 in Gurnee : A semi traveling to fast on the exit ramp from I-94 onto Route 132 ended up on it's side. The driver was operating a new Mack tractor and suffered minor injuries. The Gurnee Police called Wildwood Service to the scene and the State Police called Ernies Wrecker Service due to the location off the Toll-Road. The two companies decided to upright the truck together and Ernie hauled it away. Wildwood and Ernies have an excellent working relationship and they help each other out all the time.

Semi hauling garbage rolls over exiting I-94 in Gurnee

A semi traveling to fast on the exit ramp from I-94 onto Route 132 end ...

Updated: Jul 22, 2006 9:35pm PST

Semi rolls over into Grayslake restaurant parking lot : A semi loaded with garbage took a corner to fast and rolled over into a restuarant parking lot. The trailer was equipped with a walking floor making it very heavy. The Graylake PD called Wildwood Service to the scene. Due to the weight of the truck, Wildwood called Ernies Wrecker Service so they would have three heavy's using one as a catch truck.

Semi rolls over into Grayslake restaurant parking lot

A semi loaded with garbage took a corner to fast and rolled over into ...

Updated: Jul 20, 2006 10:03pm PST

Steel coil breaks free from semi after it rolls over : A semi loaded with a 44000# steel coil took a corner to fast and flipped over onto it's side, causing the coil to break free. Wildwood Service was called to the scene and uprighted the truck. Wildwood crews asked Ernies Wrecker Service to bring out one of his 50 Ton wreckers to assist in lifting the coil back onto the trailer as Wildwoods 30 Ton backed the truck up.

Steel coil breaks free from semi after it rolls over

A semi loaded with a 44000# steel coil took a corner to fast and flipp ...

Updated: Jul 22, 2006 9:42pm PST

Driver of car falls asleep and hits semi head-on : The driver of a car fell asleep and hit a semi head-on. The owner of the truck called Northern Illinois Mack to recover his Mack tractor-trailer dump and A-Tire County Service was called by the Lake County Sheriff to remove the car.

Driver of car falls asleep and hits semi head-on

The driver of a car fell asleep and hit a semi head-on. The owner of t ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2006 3:12pm PST

Driver passes out and drives into lake : The driver of a pick-up truck passed out due to a medical condition and drove through a yard nicking large tree's before driving into a lake. The Lake Villa Rescue Squad found the driver near the shoreline and transported him to a local hospital. A-Tire County Service was called to recover the truck and with the help of Lake Villa FD divers the recovery went smoothly.

Driver passes out and drives into lake

The driver of a pick-up truck passed out due to a medical condition an ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2006 3:30pm PST

Landscaping & Utility truck collide in Fox Lake : A landscaping truck and a utility truck slammed into each other on Route 12 and the entrance to Home Depot, causing the pick-up to roll-over trapping the driver. Fox Towing was called to the scene by the Fox Lake PD and had a large mess to clean up. Tools and equipment were thrown all over the intersection when the two trucks collided. The water tank from the lanscaping truck broke free and slid down the road.

Landscaping & Utility truck collide in Fox Lake

A landscaping truck and a utility truck slammed into each other on Rou ...

Updated: Jul 27, 2006 6:00pm PST

Flatbed hauling flammable gas overturns onto SUV : Mike's Towing from Wauconda, IL was called to Route 120 & 60 for a six wheel flatbed truck that overturned, hitting an excavator truck and an SUV. The truck was hauling three flammable gas tanks and all three canisters broke free and landed in the road, causing a liquid oxygen tank to start leaking. Once the Wauconda Fire Department extricated the injured occupants of the rolled over truck and cleared the scene of the hazardous material, Mike's was allowed to enter the scene and clean up the mess.

Flatbed hauling flammable gas overturns onto SUV

Mike's Towing from Wauconda, IL was called to Route 120 & 60 for a six ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2006 8:28am PST

Big Rig Rescue Training (Towing & Rescue) : The Big Rig Rescue training class is organized by the Newport Township FPD and Wildwood Service. It has been held at the Lake County Sheriff's shooting range for the last three years and is getting bigger and bigger. The class gives firefighters hands on training working on top of, under and along side semi's, tanker trucks and cement trucks. All trucks have cars crushed under them. Firefighters learn to work with hand tools and jack's that are available to them but also they learn to work hand and hand with Heavy Duty Wrecker operators. Rescue crews get to see how fast a trapped patient can be rescued by using these large and powerful tow trucks. Departments from all over Lake, McHenry and Kenosha County attend the class along with Tow Trucks from Wildwood Service, Floyd's Towing, Ernie's Wrecker Service and A-Tire. I have a gallery set up showing all of the rescue photos in the "Training" gallery.

Big Rig Rescue Training (Towing & Rescue)

The Big Rig Rescue training class is organized by the Newport Township ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2006 9:15pm PST

Semi hits car & tree in Round Lake : A car traveling westbound on Route 120 in Round Lake crossed into the eastbound lanes to avoid stopped traffic waiting to turn onto Bacon road. The car was hit by a eastbound dump truck. The Hendrickson tractor-trailer dump then ran off the road and hit a large tree. The driver of the truck and car were transported by Round Lake Paramedics to local hospitals. The truck driver was out of his vehicle when rescue crews arrived. The Round Lake Police called A-Tire Service to the scene, which then called Wildwood Service to assist them. After having a tree service remove the tree the truck was then pulled to the road and loaded on a Ernies Wrecker Service lowboy. Using teamwork the accident scene was quickly cleaned up and the road opened.

Semi hits car & tree in Round Lake

A car traveling westbound on Route 120 in Round Lake crossed into the ...

Updated: Nov 25, 2006 9:05pm PST

Semi rolls over into culvert along Route 41 : A 2006 Peterbuilt traveling southbound on Route 41 near Gurnee missed a curve and ended up driving up a steep hill and rolling over into a water filled culvert. The truck ended up on it's side with the trailer in a deep ditch and the tractor almost upside down in a water (and ice) filled culvert. A guardrail ran along the road making things even more difficult. Wildwood Service was called to the scene and after doing a walk around made the decision to call Ernies Wrecker Service and request there 70 ton Rotator. Between the Herman Family (Wildwood Service) and Ernie Vole (Ernies Wrecker Service) there was enough heavy duty recovery experience to get any job done. Temperatures at the start of the recovery were hovering at 16 degrees and dropping. The Gurnee Fire Department stood by at the scene and provided lighting.

Semi rolls over into culvert along Route 41

Semi rear-ends another truck, leaving big mess. : A northbound Route 41 semi rear-ended the trailer of another truck causing a long trail of engine & tranny parts along with the fluids that were inside them. Both the engine & tranny completely blew apart as the trailer crushed it's way up to the winshield of the semi tractor, crushing the drivers legs. The driver was extricated and transported by the Newport Township FPD. Wildwood Service was called to the scene to clean up the highway and tow the truck from the scene.

Semi rear-ends another truck, leaving big mess.

A northbound Route 41 semi rear-ended the trailer of another truck cau ...

Updated: Jan 20, 2007 9:39pm PST

Car burst into flames after crazy ride (Old Photos) : A car traveling at a high rate of speed missed a curve, hit a tree stump and went airborne into a line of trees and wrapped around a utlilty pole before bursting into flames. Somehow the teenage driver was pulled from the burning, twisted wreckage by a passing motorist. Fox Towing was called to the scene and had the fun job of recovering this mess.

Car burst into flames after crazy ride (Old Photos)

A car traveling at a high rate of speed missed a curve, hit a tree stu ...

Updated: Jan 19, 2008 8:44pm PST

Tanker truck flips over after being cut off by car (Old Photos) : A tanker truck full of pavement sealer flipper over into a ditch after a car pulled out in from of him in Lake Villa Township. The driver was extricated by Lake Villa firefighters and airlifted to a trama center by Flight For Life. Wildwood Service was called to the scene and uprighted the tanker once it was unloaded into another tanker.

Tanker truck flips over after being cut off by car (Old Photos)

A tanker truck full of pavement sealer flipper over into a ditch after ...

Updated: Jan 19, 2008 7:15pm PST

Plane crashes in front yard of Fox Lake home : Fox Recovery of Fox Lake, IL was called to recover and transport a plane that crashed into a line of tree's in the front yard of a large home. The plane crashed to the ground only 30 feet from the house, landing up side down. Fox Recovery responded to the scene with a 30 Ton Wrecker and a Flatbed. They were assisted by Myers Towing & Recovery with manpower and Olsen Towing with a 30 Ton Wrecker. After the plane was loaded onto a Fox flatbed, the Fox Lake Police shut down the highways and escorted Fox to a plane hanger. The hanger was hard to reach due to the overhang from the plane so Top N Drop tree service was called to trim some of the trees so the plane could safely reach the hanger. The plane was then uprighted and secured in the hanger awaiting an FAA investigation. Crews returned to the crash scene to remove all of the fallen trees that looked more like storm damage then a plane crash. The Fox Lake Fire Department assisted at the scene and during transport of the aircraft. The pilot and two passengers escaped with minor injuries, which I still can't believe.

Plane crashes in front yard of Fox Lake home

Fox Recovery of Fox Lake, IL was called to recover and transport a pla ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2009 3:47pm PST

Boom Truck flips over in Ingleside. : A boom truck avoided hitting a stopped car but ended up rolling over on Rt. 59 in Ingleside. The Fox Lake FD responded to the scene but the driver was OK. A-Tire got the call from the Lake County Sheriff and uprighted the truck which lost a lot of it's equipment all over the road.

Boom Truck flips over in Ingleside.

A boom truck avoided hitting a stopped car but ended up rolling over o ...

Updated: Dec 01, 2008 8:27pm PST

Lake County Towers repo 10 cars worth millions. : The FBI and IRS seized the home and exotic cars of a Lake County man. Authorities contacted Advance Recovery to transport 10 cars worth millions. The cars, some with less then 100 miles on them were carefully loaded onto flatbeds and towed away to a secure location. One car alone was worth 1.2 million. Advance Recovery specializes in this type of towing and was assisted by Fox, Myers, Daves, Kevins and Ingleside Towing.

Lake County Towers repo 10 cars worth millions.

Semi trailer breaks in half, Fox responds. : Fox Recovery & Towing of Fox Lake, IL was called to stabilze a 53' semi trailer that was beaking in half. Working in very cold temps, the Fox crews unloaded the trailer, secured it and towed it to the truck companies yard. All photos were taken by Rick Rapp.

Semi trailer breaks in half, Fox responds.

Pick-up flips over into retention pond in Volo. : A pick-up truck leaving the Home Depot in Volo lost control and ended up in a deep retention pond. The driver had to be extricated by Fox Lake Firefighters and was transported to the hospital by Flight For Life. A-Tire was called by the Lake County Sheriff to remove the vehicle. All photos were taken by Terry Joerns with Terry's Towing.

Pick-up flips over into retention pond in Volo.

30' Boat falls off trailer in Lake Villa. : A 30' boat fell off it's trailer landing in the middle of Rt. 83 during evening rush hour. Kevins Towing arrived on the scene and quickly called Fox Recovery & Towing to assist with one of there heavy duty wreckers. Crews picked up the boat and used a flatbed to winch the trailer back under the boat. The boat was safely loaded onto the trailer without any further damage and the road was opened back up with in one hour.

30' Boat falls off trailer in Lake Villa.

Dump Truck tips over in Lake Villa. : A tractor-trailor dump truck tipped over after it's load of wet clay became stuck inside the trailer as it was in the dump position. B&R Towing recieved the call and called Fox Recovery to assist them with the recovery. Fox used there 35 Ton Wrecker to close the dump box which gave them room to unload the clay. Fox used a Cat Skidsteer to unload the clay. Once unloaded the truck was quickly uprighted. Fox was able to keep the dirt path open so dumping operations could continue.

Dump Truck tips over in Lake Villa.

Tractor-Trailer Cement Mixer flips over in Gurnee. : A loaded tractor-trailer cement mixer flipped over on the Rt.21 to Rt.120 entrance ramp in Gurnee, injuring the driver. The truck rolled into a deep ditch that was wet from heavy rains and it quickly sank into the soft mud from it's heavy weight. The Gurnee Police called Wildwood Service to the scene and the Cement Company called Northern Towing. Due to the steep, muddy ditch and the weight of the truck the decision was made to use wreckers from both Wildwood and Northern to recover the truck and save the load. With the cement laying on one side of the drum, the position of the truck laying in the steep ditch and the mud that the heavy truck sank into made this recovery a hard one. Throw in 90 hot and humid degrees and you got yourself a fun morning. With crews from both companies working together as a team they were able to recover the truck and tow the mixer back to it's shop were crews were able to safely remove the load before it hardened.

Tractor-Trailer Cement Mixer flips over in Gurnee.

Misc Recoveries & Wrecks : This is a gallery of misc recovery photos that were sent in to me by fellow towers or myself.

Misc Recoveries & Wrecks

This is a gallery of misc recovery photos that were sent in to me by f ...

Updated: Oct 04, 2009 8:39pm PST

Roll-Off flips on it's side outside Antioch : A Roll-Off truck loaded with mulch flipped onto it's side after trying to avoid a disabled van in the roadway on Rt. 173 near Antioch. The Lake County Sheriff called Fox Recovery to the scene. Fox was able to upright the truck and winch it out of the ditch with out any problems. Fox loaded the spilled mulch into Fox Excavating dump trucks and quickly opened the highway back up for morning rush hour.

Roll-Off flips on it's side outside Antioch

Photos on this web site are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and are not to be used in any way without permission. Please contact Dan Myers at firedan@mindspring.com