‘It’s scary to work out there’: Tow truck operators mourn second fatality

Ontario tow truck operators are mourning the second fatality in less than a month, calling on drivers to slow down and move over. CTV's Jeff Pickel reports.

Tow truck operators across Ontario are mourning the workplace death of a colleague for the second time in less than a month.

On the night of Dec. 27, 2025, Ontario Provincial Police were called to Wellington Road 26, between Sideroad 27 and Sideroad 30, after a vehicle struck a tow truck operator who was assisting another driver in Wellington County. Earlier, on Dec. 3, 2025, a Kitchener tow truck operator was killed in a hit-and-run on Highway 401 near Drumbo.

Friends and family of the most recent victim, 39-year-old Khodayar Azimi, gathered in Milton on Saturday with nearly 100 tow truck operators to mourn and raise awareness about the need for drivers to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles.

“It’s scary to work out there on these roads and it’s getting worse, and that’s the problem” said Gary Vandenheuvel, president of the Professional Towing Association of Ontario.

Vandenheuvel said every tow truck operator has multiple stories of close calls, and is concerned drivers are not getting the message.

“We’re a close-knit community. All the drivers know each other across the province, and it affects us. We live this every single day driving out here,” he said.

Veteran tow operator Bear Renders, who has been on the road for 43 years, said he has never been hit, but his truck mirrors have been knocked off more than a dozen times.

“You’re always watching your back. It takes just one second for something terrible to happen,” he said.

In Ontario, it is law to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles, including tow trucks, when lights are flashing. Renders added that fines alone are not enough to ensure safety.

“It should be a $10,000 [fine]. It’s our lives. We’re representing another family that lost a loved one. They shouldn’t have,” Renders said.

Azimi’s friends and family said he had lived in Canada for eight years and was preparing to return to Iran in January for his brother’s wedding. He is remembered as a hard worker and loyal friend who cared deeply about his family.