Towing Issues: Towing Operator Liability, dmv issues, salvage yard

Question
I was having my daughter's old car ('89) towed to her home today (it's been stored on our property).  We have a really steep and long driveway and with the setup the driver had he couldn't make it up the hill to exit once he had the car.  He finally unhooked the wench(he had a truck and trailer with a wench on it).  And then my husband was trying to pull him up the hill with our vehicle.  
The driver tried to use the wench again to pull the car up onto the trailer and the wench started smoking, the brake went out and the car went flying down the hill into a creek bed and crashed into a big rock.
He really felt bad about it. He initally said his wife would get blue book on the vehicle and that he would take the towing charge off.  But now, since he knows we were going to junk it - he said that he will just tow it to his yard and take it to the salvage yard and give my daughter the $100 or whatever.
I'm worried about my daughter's liability.  The car has been idle for many years and is not currently registered.  We were having it towed so she could take care of the DMV issues and then junk it.
I'm not sure what to do.  Can you help - PLEASE.
Thanks.


Answer
From what I am reading, this man was in a pick-up truck with a trailer hooked to the back? In our industry that would only be used to transport an ATV, motorcycle or the debris from a really bad crash. Not for towing cars as a company. If this is correct, here is what you have.

1) Anyone in the towing industry should know the limits of their equipment.

2) When a tower arrives on a location and is able to see his unit will have a problem with the tow, they call for another unit from their company or another company who has the correct unit to safely tow the vehicle.

3) We all have to have 'on hook' insurance, police departments can require up to a hundred thousand dollars worth.

4) Your husbands vehicle should have never been involved.

5) Your plans for the vehicle shouldn't effect what he is going to pay. Sounds like he is trying to prevent an insurance claim.

6) Your daughters vehicle was not being driven, didn't have a tag on it or insurance doesn't have anything to do with his crashing the vehicle. Hopefully DMV did know the vehicle was not being driven.

7)All operators know when their winch is under a strain and they STOP. Thank goodness his cable didn't kill anyone.

8) A proper towing unit would have normally had a secondary brake system.

Bottom line, this guy never should have tried to get the car after seeing your driveway. He did and now the car is crashed. If not, you could have donated it to a good cause and come ahead by getting the full tax write off. Request the full Kelly Blue Book value or ask him for his insurance information, so a claim can be filed. Odds are he would rather pay you himself. How did you find this 'towing company' who sent a pickup truck to do a tow? Please follow up with e-mail to me so I will be able to give you more very important information. Lisa@Tallahasseetowing.com

Hope this is helpful,
Lisa