Family: Tow company added insult to tragedy

The morning of Oct. 18 began like many other days for Charles and Stephanie White of Columbia, Md.

A couple with 42 years of marriage under their belts, they have been coming to the Cape Region for the past 30 years, and they were in town to celebrate Charles' 67th birthday Oct. 19.

“We traveled all over the place, but Rehoboth Beach was our anchor,” said Stephanie.

Like many times before, the plan for the couple was to split up in the morning – Charles to play golf, Stephanie to explore the area's activities and shops – and then enjoy an evening out together.

That's what he would do, said Stephanie. He'd go out, play a round of golf, go back to the hotel, shave, shower and wait until he got a call from me, she said.

Stephanie's sister-in-law was in town, so the two of them were going to enjoy downtown Lewes.

“We were in Lewes at an event across the street from the Zwaanendael. We were on our way to the main street to walk around and meander until I called my husband to come pick us up,” she said.

But they never got a chance to make the call. Instead Stephanie got a call from her son Chris.

Stephanie recalled the conversation: Following his round of golf, Charles was driving on Route 1 in Dewey when he suffered a heart attack. Chris told Stephanie Charles had been pronounced dead on arrival at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes.

“When he told me that, I just collapsed on the street,” she said from her home in Columbia Nov. 12. Nearly a month later, she was still brought to tears thinking of her husband all alone in the final moments of his life. “I don't know how long he was by himself,” she said.

Stephanie spent a while collapsed on the ground, but eventually, with the help of her sister-in-law and some complete strangers who noticed the two women crying, she was able to gather herself together enough to realize someone had to get the car Charles had been driving.

And if it's possible, that's when Stephanie's day got even worse.

Car towed

Dewey police told Stephanie the car had been towed by local company Coastal Towing. When her sister-in-law called the company about picking the car up, Stephanie said the owner, Charlie Moore, told them it would be $250 cash and that it would be $50 for each additional day.

Stephanie said the two women didn't have that kind of cash on them – her husband was the money person in the family – and asked for Moore to cut them a break.

“All he said was, 'It's just business,” she said.

For his part, Moore contends that he wasn't being mean or rude, just frank. He said he was just doing his job.

“We got there, the body had already been taken away, and the car was towed in,” he said.

Moore said the tow happened at midday, close to closing time, which on a Saturday is between 2 and 3 p.m. He said when the shop closed for the day, he went to a family function in Oak Orchard, but he carried his work phone with him just in case.

Shortly after arriving at the event, Moore said, Stephanie's sister-in-law called and he explained that it would be $250 cash and it would be released when Dewey Beach gave the OK. Shortly after that, an officer from the town called and said it was fine to release the car.

Moore said the sister-in-law called again, and again Moore explained how much it would cost to get the car. She wanted to know how she was supposed to get that kind of cash, he said.

Moore said he then told the woman that he would give them until 10 p.m. to find the money before making them wait until the next day to get the car. He said allowing the White family to pick the car up after hours was a measure of generosity other tow companies wouldn't show.

“The other companies around here do not release cars after hours,” he said.

Hours after the initial phone call, Stephanie's son had arrived in town from the Baltimore area with the cash nteeded to get the car.

Moore said they called him at 9:20 p.m., at which time he drove over to the shop.

Stephanie said she stayed in the car because she was too upset. She said she was surprised to learn there were credit card stickers on the counter in the shop after being told the company would accept only cash.

Moore confirmed the company takes credit cards, but, he said, only for repairs done at the shop. He said the reason for this is that if a tow is challenged, a person can stop payment on a credit card and then he's out of his money.

Moore said he has given breaks to people, but he never tows a car for free. He said sometimes the towing and storage fees can be in excess of $500 and it's clear someone doesn't have the money and can only come up with $300.

“Nothing is free. I can't work on free,” he said. “We've got a contract to tow, and we towed.”

Both parties agree the son wanted to look for his dad's wallet in the car before paying to get the car.

Stephanie said Moore was unnecessarily short with her son. Moore told Chris that he wasn't allowed to go in the car unless there was a money transaction.

Then, when Chris did pay, Moore pulled out a wad of $20-bills like a drug dealer, said Stephanie.

Moore said he didn't give the family permission to come search the car and then pay to get it out. He said he gave them permission to come get the car only.

Moore said when the family finally got the car out of the impound, they tore the car apart making sure everything was in there. Moore said he was surprised; it didn't even look like the family had been crying for a minute, he said.

“They were cold as steel when they came and picked up that car,” he said.

Stephanie said Coastal Towing got their pound of flesh; she thinks the company's contracts with local municipalities should be pulled.

“They have no business being a representative of any town,” she said.

Stephanie said she's not looking for a handout, and while paying the towing fee was a hard pill to swallow, it would have gone down a lot smoother if Moore had been more compassionate.

“It's just left a bad taste in my mouth,” she said. “I don't know if I ever want to come back down there.”

Moore said he's been towing since 1985 and couldn't recall a situation like this. He said usually the loved ones of the deceased come pay the fee, get the car and leave. That's it, he said.

“I was just doing my job, and it's not a pretty one sometimes,” he said.

Moore said that he did bend the rules for the Whites, but looking back on it now, he wishes he hadn't.

Giving them a deadline of 10 p.m. was a sensible thing to do, he said, but the issue with this car just won't go away.

Dewey response

Dewey Beach town officials first learned of Charles White's incident after reading a letter to the editor from Stephanie that ran in the Nov. 7 edition of the Cape Gazette.

This was not widely reported, said Marc Appelbaum, Dewey Beach town manager, who was out of town when it happened.

Appelbaum said the town is in the process of reviewing the contract with Coastal Towing. Under the contract, the town receives $50 for every tow. He said he doesn't think the town should be profiting from the hardship of this family.

He said there's an ethical and moral standard associated with trying to make a profit, and profit should not be made on someone else's demise.

“If I owned the tow company, I would feel the same way. It's just not right,” he said. “I would hope Coastal Towing would feel the same.”

Dewey Beach Mayor Diane Hanson said if this is how the company treats its customers, the town is going to have to re-evaluate its contract.

At an Oct. 11 town commissioner's meeting the weekend before the incident, Appelbaum addressed the issue of the town collecting $50 for vehicles that are towed. He said he had just learned of the practice and wasn't comfortable with it, suggesting the money be donated to a charity.

Hanson wouldn't go that far. She said the issue regarding the $50 fee was unresolved, and didn't think the town should be making money off of it, but she didn't offer any other suggestions.

Appelbaum said he spoke with police Chief Sam Mackert and told him that towing should only be a last resort. He said towing in the case of an emergency is acceptable, but in other cases, placing a boot that immobilizes the car was a better option.

The town wants to avoid getting a reputation as a place that tows cars unnecessarily.

“It's not good for the image of the town,” said Appelbaum.

Hanson agreed with the idea that towing a vehicle should only be a last resort.

Appelbaum said he spoke with Moore Nov. 12 and suggested he write a letter of apology and provide a refund.

“He said, 'absolutely not,'” said Appelbaum.