Provides Opinion & Testimony In:
Towing, Recovery, Road Service Technician, Towing Safety Trainer, Tow Truck, Wrecker, Car-Carrier, Flatbed, Wheel-Lift, Under-Reach, Vehicle Recovery, Vehicle Relocation, Non-Consent Towing, Motor Club, Road Service, Trailer, Winch, Tow Chain
EDUCATION
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
BS Degree / Applied Science
HARPER COLLEGE
AAS Degree / Fire Science
PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
1995-Current
PALATINE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Deputy Chief
Deputy Chief of a large Chicago-area fire department serving 65,000+ residents
Overseeing a staff of 91 full-time firefighters operating from five (5) fire stations
Supervising day-to-day fire suppression, rescue operations and emergency medical services at the Advanced Life Support (ALS) level
As a licensed 3rd Party Non-CDL Safety Officer with the Illinois Secretary of State, developed in-house emergency driver training program
2001-2015
ERNIE’S TOWING, INC.
Co-Owner
Owned and managed a fleet of six (6) tow trucks and car carriers
Performed emergent and non-emergent towing, recovery and road service
Provided towing, recovery and road service safety training
Performed general sales and managed customer service
1997-2012
MIDWEST FLEET SAFETY, INC.
President
Independent safety and regulatory consultant
Providing FMCSR and OSHA regulatory reviews and compliance assistance
Providing didactic driver safety training for commercial fleets
Providing risk control and loss management insurance assessments
Providing professional legal consulting in the area of towing, crash recovery, road service and other related towing operation and equipment topics
1995-1997
ROAD ONE, INC.
Midwest Regional Towing Safety Manager
Provided fleet safety services for twelve (12) towing and recovery terminals within the Midwest; Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin
Prepared and presented employee safety training which included both didactic and practical instruction in towing, recovery and road side service areas
Monitored and maintained required FMCSR and OSHA regulatory compliance
Performed crash/damage investigations including vehicle crashes, damage claims and employee injuries
1986-1995
O’HARE TRUCK SERVICE, INC.
Towing Safety Manager
Responsible for driver recruitment, selection and towing safety training
Prepared and presented employee safety training which included both didactic and practical instruction in towing, recovery and road side service areas
Monitored and maintained required FMCSR and OSHA regulatory compliance
Performed crash/damage investigations including vehicle crashes, damage claims and employee injuries
LEGAL CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
2002 Amato & Dindia v. E&T Towing
Law Offices of Rory K. McGinty-Defense
2004 JA Frate & Glover v. Chacon, Castellanos & Guzman
Thomas Burdelik & Associates-Plaintiff
2008 Plodzien v. Federal Insurance Co.
Hoagland, Fitzgerald, & Pranaitis-Defense
2008 Helfrich v. Cottrell & Boyd Contracting
Wilke & Wilke-Defense
2008 Hayes v. Len’s Towing
Wilke & Wilke-Defense
2008 Fulk v. Mason & Metford Towing
Law Offices of William Beck-Plaint
2008 Chapman v. Milford Towing
Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis-Defense
2009 Taft v. Home Depot
Gallivan, White & Boyd-Defense
2009 Nationwide Trans v. Tony’s Tire Service
Lewis, Webster & Knoshaug-Plaintiff
2010 PTROI v. Illinois Commerce Commission
Goldstine, Skrodzki, Russian, Nemec & Hoff-Plaintiff
2012 Casavant v. Amarite
Lewis, King, Kreig & Waldrop-Plaintiff
2012 Hebert v. Kerek’s Wrecker Service
Sotile Law Firm-Plaintiff
2012 Meyers v. Love’s Travel Stops
Farmer, Cline & Campbell-Plaintiff
2014 Lang v. J-Mar Enterprises and Triple D, Inc.
Cahill Law Office-Defense
2014 Carder/Loyd v. Poor Boys Towing
Armstrong Teasdale-Plaintiff
2014 Paregov v. Mac’s Towing
Cole, Scott & Kissane-Defense
2014 Hancock v. Hein
Law Offices of Joseph Dunn-Plaintiff
2014 Ruis-Morgan v. Woller Towing
Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano-Plaintiff
2015 James v. Kirby Towing
Law Offices of Dan Modarski-Plaintiff
2015 Garza v. Lyons and Airline Towing
Gregorio – Marco-Plaintiff
2015 Scroggs v. Hack
Garan Lucow Miller P.C.-Defense
2016 Daouk v. Fadlallah & U-Haul
Mike Morse Law Firm-Plaintiff
2016 Rodrigues v. Yates Towing
Moseley Law Firm-Plaintiff
2016 Daniels v. A+ Towing
Schneider Hammers, LLC-Plaintiff
2016 Fox v. Ameren & City of Beardstown
Hepler Broom Law Firm-Defense
2016 Ravizza v. PACCAR
Segal McCambridge-Defense
SEMINARS AND PRESENTATIONS
2004 United States Postal Service -Towing Safety Seminar
2005 Kelly’s Truck Center-Towing and Workplace Safety Seminar
2005 Graycor Blasting-DOT Hazardous Material Safety Seminars
2005 United States Postal Service-Towing Safety Seminar
2005 AAA Ohio Motor Club-Towing Safety Seminar
2006 KIA – Central Div-Corporate Driver Training Seminar
2007 The Kerry Group-DOT Compliance Seminar
2008 Ryan, Robertson & Associates-DOT Compliance Seminar
2009 Prof Towing & Recovery Operators of IL-Towing Safety Seminar
2010 Portillo’s Food Service-Fleet Safety Seminar
2012 R & D Trucking-DOT Hazardous Material Safety Seminar
2012 Crate & Barrel Distribution Group-Fleet Safety Seminar
2012 Tennessee Tow Truck Association-Roadside Safety Seminars
2013 Crate & Barrel Distribution Group-Fleet Safety Seminar
2015 Crate & Barrel Distribution Group-Fleet Safety Seminar
TRAINING, QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS
1986 Towing and Recovery Association of America
Basic Skills for Light Duty Towing
1987 International Recovery Associates
Air Cushion Recovery Procedures
1987 International Recovery Associates
Towing and Recovery
1988 Towing and Recovery Association of America
Fundamentals of Heavy Recovery
1992 Illinois Hazardous Materials Advisory Board
HM First Responder – Awareness Certification
1993 Illinois Hazardous Materials Advisory Board
HM First Responder – Operations Certification
1994 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Firefighter III Certification
1994 National Safety Council DDC-4
Defensive Driving Course
1994 Safe Towing and Recovery Seminar (STARS)
Planning and Presenting Effective Driver Training
1995 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Instructor-I Certification
1995 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Officer-I Certification
1996 Illinois Department of Public Health
Emergency Medical Tech / Paramedic License
1997 Towing and Recovery Association of America
Level 1 – Light Duty Towing and Recovery Cert
1997 Towing and Recovery Association of America
Level 2 – Nationally Certified Master Tower Cert
1999 JJ Keller & Associates
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
1999 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Haz-Mat Technician “A” Certification
1999 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification
2000 American Safety & Health Institute
Instructor Certification
2000 National Traffic Safety Institute
Level 1 – Instructor Certification
2001 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Haz-Mat Technician “B” Certification
2001 National Fire Academy
Emergency Response to Terrorism
2002 Illinois Fire Service Institute
Fire Apparatus Engineer Certification
2002 JJ Keller & Associates
Safe & Smart Driver Training – Instructor
2004 Illinois Fire Chief’s Association
Instructor II Certification
2004 Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
Fire Service Vehicle Operator Certification
2005 Federal Emergency Management Agency
National Incident Management System (NIMS)
2005 Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency
Emergency Traffic Control (ETC)
2005 North American Transportation Management Institute
Safety and DOT Compliance
2005 Illinois Fire Service Institute
Haz-mat Incident Management System Cert
2005 National Safety Council Certified
Emergency Vehicle Operator (CEVO II)
2006 US Department of Homeland Security
WMD Standardized Awareness Program
2006 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
2006 Federal Emergency Management Agency
National Response Plans (NRP)
2009 Federal Emergency Management Agency
ICS 300; NIMS Incident Command training
2009 Federal Emergency Management Agency
ICS 400; NIMS Incident Command training
2009 National Safety Council CEVO-II
Emergency Vehicle Train-the-Trainer
2010 Federal Emergency Management Agency
IS 701; NIMS Multi-Agency Coordination System
2010 Federal Emergency Management Agency
IS 703a; NIMS Resource Management
2010 Federal Emergency Management Agency
IS 704; NIMS Com & Information Management
2011 Illinois Fire Service Instructors Association
Incident Safety Officer Certification
2011 Arlington Heights Fire Academy
Technical Rescue Awareness
2012 Illinois Department of Transportation & SIU-E
Highway Traffic Incident Management
2015 Illinois Department of Transportation & SIU-E
Highway Traffic Incident Management
2015 National Fire Protection Assoc. Training Program
Electric Vehicle Safety Training
2015 Fire Department Instructor Conference (FDIC)
Safety Leadership
2015 Fire Department Instructor Conference (FDIC)
Large Truck Extrication
2015 Fire Department Instructor Conference (FDIC)
Highway Incident Safety
SPECIAL INTERESTS & EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
2010-Current Licensed EMS First Responder (AED) with the Illinois Department of Public Health
1995-2010 Licensed ALS Paramedic with the Illinois Department of Public Health
2008-Current Author “TOWSAFE” TOWING SAFETY PROGRAM [In conjunction with Tow Times Magazine]
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
PUBLISHED ARTICLES IN TOWING INDUSTRY TRADE MAGAZINES
Available Upon Request
