Bill and Muriel Elliott never imagined that a tow truck would be a symbol of their 25-year mission to prevent drunk driving in memory of their fallen son.
The 35-foot flatbed truck, wrapped with the bright blue and gold symbols of the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign, now reminds motorists to always have a designated driver whenever they have been drinking alcohol. It also serves as a cautionary warning that their vehicles could end up on the back of the truck if they have been arrested for DUI under New Jersey’s “John’s Law.” The “HERO” tow truck was the brainchild of Patrick Aiken, owner and operator of Courthouse Towing in Marmora, N.J., and a longtime supporter of the HERO Campaign.
“If they don’t heed our helpful reminder to use a designated driver, then we might see them later when we tow their car after they’ve been arrested,” Aiken said. His company is the official towing operator for large sections of the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway, where hundreds of arrests are made — and cars are towed — annually under John’s Law.
The law, passed in 2001, requires police to impound the cars of DUI offenders for 12 hours after their arrest to separate them from their cars while they sober up. It accounts for over 20,000 DUI car impoundments annually in the Garden State.
The legislation is named after Bill and Muriel Elliott’s son, Navy Ensign John Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, who was killed in a July 2000 crash with a drunk driver two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. The intoxicated driver had been arrested just three hours earlier but was released into the care of a friend—who, instead of taking him home safely, allowed him to get back behind the wheel. In a head-on collision 30 minutes later, the driver killed himself and Ensign Elliott, who was driving home from Annapolis for his mother’s birthday celebration.
Aiken, who is also a Lower Township police officer, came up with the idea for the HERO tow truck after arranging to have two of his department’s police cruisers wrapped with the HERO message, joining a fleet of HERO patrol cars that now number over 35 statewide. The wraps are provided by the HERO Campaign with funding from sponsors, including the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
“When Pat first approached me, I thought the HERO tow truck was a great way to deliver two messages at the same time,” said Bill Elliott. “Use common sense and have a safe ride home, or pay the price if you don’t.”
Elliott said Aiken is his “Tow Truck HERO” for the lives he’s helping save.
The HERO tow truck will be on display at the HERO Campaign’s 25th Anniversary HERO Walk, to be held Sunday, Oct. 19, from 9:30 a.m. to noon at 6th Street and the Ocean City Boardwalk. Fifteen other HERO police cruisers also will be on display at the event, which also features a memorial ceremony for families who have lost loved ones to DUI.
