The American Towman Spirit Ride rolled through Batavia Wednesday afternoon with one important message, slow down and move over, look out for tow truck operators and first responders working in the roadway.
Elaina Dickinson, of Parise’s auto and towing, coordinated the event that was held on Evans street at the ice rink parking lot.
Parises was joined by towing companies in the area, City and Town firefighters and local law enforcement as the Spirit Casket was relayed to the back of one of Parise’s tow trucks.
A moment of silence for Kevin Cofta of Clarence Center also took place, Cofta died in 2008 after being struck by a drunk driver while hooking a car.
The Move Over Law is often ignored and does exist in all states of the union and it requires passing vehicles to move over one lane when approaching an incident where emergency lights are flashing .
A ceremonial casket named Spirit, was created by Mike Corbin who composed the Spirit Ride’s anthem “Booms in the Sky”. The casket was placed on the back of Parise’s tow truck as a procession of tow trucks and emergency vehicles went down Main street on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have just as important of a job and we would like to come home to our loved ones at night, just want to get the message across that we are people too and we would like to make it home,” says Elaina Dickinson.