‘Heart shattering:’ Families of late tow truck drivers spread awareness about Florida’s Move Over law

Law requires drivers to move over for stopped vehicles helping drivers, providing services

ORLANDO, Fla. – Family members of tow truck drivers killed in crashes where drivers failed to move over are helping spread awareness for the Florida law requiring drivers to move over for stopped vehicles on the roadside helping drivers or providing services.

“Everyone knows to move over. If you see those flashing lights, move over the lane,” Lt. Tara Crescenzi with Florida Highway Patrol said.

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Austin Gayne, 24, was loading a heavy wrecker with a dump truck on Feb. 1, 2021, when he was struck and killed on State Road 408 by a driver who did not move over. Gayne’s mother, Brooke Lawrence, said he left behind two small children.

Lawrence and her family want to spread the message so that this doesn’t happen to another family.

“There were seven vehicles in the lane with flashing lights, two community patrols, two road rangers, mechanics vehicles, a dump truck and a heavy wrecker. Seven vehicles and the driver came through and failed to obey the law,” Lawrence said.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers showed through a video how often crashes like these happen during a press conference on Monday.

“Do not risk everyone else’s life that’s out there protecting you. Not only is it our road ranger that’s helping your grandma change her tire, or helping a new driver who’s 16, 17 years old who doesn’t know how to change her tire,” Crescenzi said.

According to FHP, there have been seven deaths in 1,492 crashes where a driver was cited for not moving over from January 2015 to October 2022.

This past November, another tow truck driver, Paul Paez, was killed while towing cars from a car crash.

“Paul’s life was taken on Nov. 10, 2022, during Hurricane Nicole. The pain that our family has felt is heart shattering,” said Marisa Cruz, Paul Paez’s wife.

Troopers explained these crashes are preventable and if you can’t move in time, you must slow down to 20 miles per hour under the posted speed limit.

FHP said the Lake Eola fountain and Amway Center in Orlando are set to display yellow lights in honor of Gayne and all the other fallen tow truck operators on Feb. 26.

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About the Author:

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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