Moving Tribute for Connecticut Tower Christopher Russell

On Wed., June 1, Connecticut tow truck driver Christopher Russell, who was acting as a Good Samaritan before he was killed in New Haven by a drunk driver on I-91, was given tribute by family, friends, and towers. 

Owner Anthony Monaco of Hightech Auto Center in New Haven said, “He had just finished helping someone pulled over and got hit by a drunk driver as he was walking back to the truck.” 

With his casket strapped to the bed of a tow truck, Dozens of tow truck drivers drove in procession to a cemetery in Manchester, Conn., where Russell was laid to rest. 72 tow trucks were counted. 

“He was one of your cranky guys with the biggest heart you’ve ever seen,” said Harley Garcia, Russell’s colleague at RTT LLC. 

Towers spoke of the pressing need for the motoring public to slow down and move over. 

“These vehicles are a weapon if they are used improperly. People need to operate these with the same care that they’d operate a handgun or anything else,” Garcia said. 

“I’m out there all the time, too, and you know, people come within mere inches and they don’t think it’s like serious, but he didn’t get to go home to his family that night,” said Luis Crespo, friend and former colleague of Russell. Garcis said, "We all have families to return home to. Unfortunately, Christopher didn’t return to his family, making sure that another family got home." Source: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/