Think you’re having a rough week? At least you didn’t spend the early morning hours trying to tow a disabled car three separate times, crash it into the same restaurant twice, and then leave the whole mess behind.
That’s essentially what happened in University Place, Washington, a community in Pierce County near Tacoma. While this incident actually happened last year, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office video has found a new audience online, and viewers are once again shaking their heads at one of the most spectacularly unsuccessful towing attempts you’ll ever see.
According to deputies, the whole ordeal began when a maroon vehicle broke down and was left parked at an AutoZone. The driver reportedly told employees he would be back later to tow it away since it was not running properly. That return trip did happen, but not exactly according to plan.
Surveillance footage reviewed by deputies shows a white Honda Pilot arriving with a dolly in the middle of the night to retrieve the disabled vehicle. What followed was a series of decisions that somehow made a bad situation worse with each passing hour.
A Tow Attempt That Went From Bad to Worse
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What followed was a series of mishaps that would make even the most patient mechanic throw up their hands. Deputies say three separate towing attempts ended unsuccessfully, with each setback making the situation worse than the one before it.
Reviewing the timeline laid out by deputies, the first towing attempt ended shortly after the car was pulled from its parking stall, sending it only a short distance before stopping. Rather than stopping to reassess, the driver reportedly tried again about half an hour later.
That is when the second attempt went badly wrong. The disabled vehicle rolled downhill directly into the Pho and Teriyaki restaurant, causing significant damage to the entrance. If that sounds bad, hold on, because the same restaurant took a second hit before the night was over.
Most people might take that as a sign to call a professional tow company, but the driver made a third attempt. This time the vehicle nearly made it out of the parking lot before once again coming loose and rolling back into the same restaurant it had just hit.
Three failed towing attempts. Two crashes into the same building. One very long night.
Restaurant Left with the Damage, Deputies Left with Questions
By the time the dust settled, the driver and a female passenger had given up entirely, leaving the damaged vehicle behind after a final attempt ended near a retention wall and curb.
The Pho and Teriyaki restaurant sustained significant damage to its entrance from the repeated collisions, and business owners in the area are all too familiar with the headaches that come from unexpected overnight vehicle damage.
Deputies said the case was being investigated as a hit-and-run collision because the driver and passenger left the scene without reporting the damage or making contact with the business.
Anyone with information about the white Honda Pilot or the woman seen in the surveillance footage is asked to contact the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Lesson Learned
There is probably a lesson here about knowing when a project has officially stopped being a DIY repair and started becoming a tow-truck problem. After the first failed attempt, maybe. After the second crash into the same restaurant, definitely.
The other takeaway is that surveillance cameras do not miss much these days. What might have once become a local story is now a video that continues to circulate online long after the incident itself.
The restaurant has likely long since repaired the damage, but the internet hasn’t forgotten the incident. More than a year later, viewers are still discovering the footage and wondering why nobody called a tow truck after the first failed attempt.