DALLAS, TX—Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and Ben Crump Law attorneys Paul Grinke and Aaron Dekle have secured a $13 million settlement on behalf of the family of James Smith, an elderly Dallas resident who was run over and killed during a late-night towing incident outside his apartment complex.
The settlement resolves claims against tow-truck driver Roberto Padilla Garcia and a group of related towing and vehicle-management companies with operations in Dallas, including WHW Transport, Inc., CWS Recovery, United Road Towing, Inc., Walnut Hill Wrecker, Vehicle Management Solutions, LLC, URT Texas, Inc., Integrity Parking Management, Mart Caudle Corporation, URT Walnut Hill Wrecker, Inc., URT United Road Towing, Inc., UR Vehicle Management Solutions, URVMS, and United Road Towing, Inc.
According to the lawsuit, in the very early morning hours of Dec. 3, 2023, James Smith was inside his apartment in Dallas when he was told that his recently purchased vehicle was being towed from the complex parking lot, even though it had been properly registered with apartment management. When he went outside, he found Garcia attempting to hook his vehicle to a tow truck; the vehicle had not yet been fully secured.
The complaint alleges that, under Texas law and Dallas city ordinances, the tow operator was required to stop the tow and release the vehicle once Mr. Smith identified himself as the owner before the car was removed from the property. Instead, Garcia allegedly continued the towing process in accordance with company policies that encouraged drivers to remove vehicles even when they were not fully secured or when owners objected.
While Mr. Smith stood next to his car and pleaded with Garcia to review his apartment registration paperwork and stop the tow, the two argued. The lawsuit states that Mr. Smith eventually reached into the tow-truck window to turn off the ignition so that Garcia could not drive away with his car. Garcia then allegedly closed the window on Mr. Smith’s arm, pinning him, and sped off through the complex with Mr. Smith running alongside before losing his footing and being dragged.
According to the complaint, Garcia continued driving several hundred feet with Mr. Smith hanging from the truck, before lowering the window while still moving, causing Mr. Smith to fall to the pavement. He was then run over by the rear tires of the tow truck and the tires of his own vehicle. Garcia allegedly drove away without stopping to render aid and continued towing the car to the lot. Mr. Smith was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The lawsuit further alleges that the corporate defendants negligently hired, trained, supervised, and retained Garcia, and that they encouraged unsafe towing practices by instructing drivers not to drop vehicles when owners objected, to move vehicles before they were fully secured with tow lights and wheel tie-downs, and to disregard state and local rules requiring release of a vehicle when the owner intervenes before it is removed from the property.
