PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland woman who abandoned her car during Portland's historic snowstorm on Wednesday was surprised to learn her car had been towed when she returned Friday to retrieve it. That surprise turned to disbelief when she found out how much it would cost to get it back.
The woman, who preferred not to be named, found out her car had been towed by Anderson Towing. She said that after she watched a story on KGW about how to get a car back after it had been towed, she assumed the tow company would charge her about $270.
"When we got there, the charge was $787," she said. "I was devastated. It was shocking."
The snowstorm dropped nearly 11 inches on Portland on Wednesday night, the second-highest total in the city's recorded history. The woman said she tried to make the drive Wednesday night from Beaverton to her home in Portland and encountered a mess.
She managed to travel just a mile in five hours in standstill traffic on Highway 26. Not knowing how much longer it would take her to get home or when the snow would stop, she made the decision to pull off the highway, leave her car and walk to a safe place.
"I made sure I pulled over between two cars," she said. "And I was able to see the white line on the freeway."
But the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) tagged her car as a hazard and between Wednesday night and Friday, when she went back to retrieve it, the car had been towed.
The woman said in the future she'd make a different decision about driving in the snow.
"When I was stuck in traffic for five hours, it was scary," she said. "In the future, I would not risk it."
She said she'll try to contest the charges. KGW reached out to Anderson Towing on Saturday and was told nobody would be available to comment until Monday.
ODOT told KGW that any cars that are deemed a hazard will be towed. A spokesperson for ODOT said they weren't aware of towing companies charging more than $700 and that a typical tow should cost about $250 for a car, truck or SUV.
Friday night, The Story on KGW reported that the price of the bill from the towing company can increase quickly for things like the size of the car, how long the car sits in the tow company lot, when the car is retrieved and much more. Watch the video that explains those charges here.
ODOT on towing abandoned vehicles
An ODOT spokesperson provided the following answers to questions posed by KGW about towing disabled or abandoned vehicles:
- KGW: Is the shoulder considered a hazard, such as blocking access for emergency responders and road crews?
- ODOT: Yes. The vehicle is a "hazard or obstruction" if any part of the vehicle extends within the highway shoulder or bicycle lane.
- KGW: Were there some vehicles that were not towed for one reason or another?
- ODOT: It's hard to speculate about this. Our crews on the ground make that call on a case-by-case basis. Their first priority is vehicles in the lanes, then ones on the shoulder that could obstruct our plows, then ones deeper in the shoulder or bike lane. With all the snow and ice this week it was hard in some places to determine exactly where the road shoulders were. Couple that with hundreds of abandoned vehicles, and some may have been "missed" by our crew's tags. Also, when I say "tagged," I mean our crews tag vehicles for the tow, then a private tow company completes that work.
- KGW: Is ODOT aware of some of high prices, north of $700, charged for some tows?
- ODOT: We were not aware of tow companies charging prices that high, that is unusual. Tow companies have a contract agreement with the city of Portland for situations like this, and the contract has set fees based on a few factors, like vehicle size, how long the vehicle stays in the company’s tow yard, etc. A typical tow and one-night stay at a tow yard should cost people about $250 for a car, pickup or SUV.
ODOT said it follows these two Oregon statutes for disabled or abandoned vehicles:
- ORS 819.110 - Custody, towing and sale or disposal of abandoned vehicle
- ORS 819.120 - Immediate custody and towing of vehicle constituting hazard or obstruction