Tow Truck Driver Paralyzed After Allegedly Being Shot By Rival Driver; No Charges Have Been Filed
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A tow truck driver is paralyzed and still hospitalized after a violent argument with a rival driver.
He says another driver shot him when they both showed up to the same crash and a fight ensued.
The attorney representing the man has an office in the Strip District. He says his client was only defending himself against a man who was more than twice his size.
"I've regretted every second of every day because now my whole entire life is changed," the driver, Jason Stotlemeyer, said from his hospital bed.
Stotlemeyer is paralyzed from the waist down after allegedly being shot by a rival tow truck driver.
"I keep waking up every morning realizing that I will never be able to walk again, that I won't be able to teach my son the things that I looked forward to teaching him," Stotlemeyer said.
The incident happened on Feb. 2 on Washington Boulevard in the Larimer section of Pittsburgh, there was an accident and two tow truck drivers showed up.
Stotlemeyer's attorney said that his client was not aware that he was not permitted to tow in that part of town. Apparently, there was an unwritten rule between tow truck drivers.
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Two tow truck drivers from a rival towing company showed up," said Stotlemeyer's attorney Casey White. "They began to threaten and harass my client to the point that he felt endangered.
"These two tow truck drivers continued to harass him and they threatened that they were going to bring a third person to take care of him."
That third person showed up, and according to White, that person threatened Stotlemeyer's life.
"My client was retreating and went to his truck to grab the bat," White said. "And once my client opened up the passenger side door of the tow truck, he turned around with a bat in his left hand, when that individual pulled out a gun and shot him."
Stotlemeyer's is the father of a six-month-old boy and had only been a tow truck driver for three weeks.
No charges have been filed against the other driver at this time. A call to his attorney was not returned.
