Driver charged with DWI after tow truck with kids inside crashes twice

RANLO, N.C. — A tow truck driver is facing several charges, including DWI, after police said he got into two crashes, which occurred a few blocks apart in Ranlo, within minutes of each other.

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Police told Gaston County bureau reporter Ken Lemon the driver had two children in his truck when it happened.

A pickup truck with a driver and passenger inside was in the left turn lane.

They were waiting for the light to change when the tow truck smashed into them.

The tow truck driver needed a Narcan injection, which is commonly used on people who have overdosed on opioids.

The owner of the white truck, Dwayne Summitt, told Lemon the tow truck slammed into his truck, pushing it backwards several feet.

“Don’t really know how it all got started,” Summitt said. “I just hate how it ended.”

Tow truck driver Patrick Lucas, whom they believe was impaired, got onto Auten Road on April 1 with two children, five and seven, inside and no child safety seat.

The first crash, they said, happened at an intersection just down the street from Brookside Elementary school at about the same time parents were dropping off the last few students.

Police say Lucas rammed the back of a car, and a witness saw a child get out of the tow truck and run away.

The witness said Lucas kept driving, ran a red light at Ozark Road a few blocks away and hit the pickup truck.

Summitt told Lemon that his employees were in the truck and barely made it out.

“It was a blessing nobody was killed. It was a terrible accident. The things that transpired that morning.”

Arrest warrants say rescuers used a Narcan shot on Lucas, which is normally used to save people afterand opioid overdose.

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There was still at least one child in the tow truck.

Summitt said he’s glad Lucas stopped and no one else was hurt.

“Who knows what would have happened down at the next intersection,” Summitt said.

Lucas faces many charges, including DWI and misdemeanor child abuse.

He will be in court next month.

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Tow Truck Driver Lying Under Vehicle Survives Crash Tow Truck Driver Lying Under Vehicle Survives Crash

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