It was a busy night for tow truck drivers in Waterloo region as another winter storm blanketed a large swath of southern Ontario with snow Monday evening.
Holst Towing & Freight was kept very busy attending about 50 calls during the storm, with the owner saying at one point, wait times for service reached up to eight hours.
“We had 12 drivers, and not a single truck was parked. It was just insane. It was wild,” Ryan Holst, co-owner of Holst Towing & Freight said.
“Ninety-eight percent of them were stuck in a ditch, trapped in their driveway. The kind of silly stuff like that, and then there was the more serious stuff on the highway where they hit the centre median.”
Holst said the calls for service calmed down once tow truck operators and road maintenance were able to get out and clear the roads.
The City of Kitchener said their entire fleet took part in the dig out.
“We had all of our equipment available, 50-plus trucks and operators ready to go at 2 a.m., and we also had five contracted snow blowers to do our cul-de-sacs,” Roslyn Lusk, director of operations, road and traffic for the City of Kitchener, said.
The wintry mix of ice, snow and slush made for a messy drive, with Waterloo regional police saying from 3 p.m. on Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, officers received 21 reports collisions resulting in property damage and four collisions involving injuries. No serious crashes were reported.
By Tuesday at noon, most major streets were cleared as crews worked to plow side streets across the region.
The tri-cities declared snow events on Monday, banning street parking.
As of 6 p.m., those bans had lifted.
Waterloo residents could be seen digging out on Tuesday morning.
“It just came fast and furious,” Waterloo resident Kayla Ginsler said.
Residents have a responsibility to clear the sidewalk around the property
“I came out last night, I just wanted to do the end of the driveway, and then I can go in and have my coffee,” Waterloo resident Partty Seegmiller said.
