An Oregon man apparently decided that if he couldn’t pay to retrieve his vehicle from a Eugene tow yard, he would try a considerably more destructive option. Police say the 54-year-old climbed over a barbed-wire fence, got behind the wheel, and attempted to ram his way out through the gate.
Unfortunately for him, the tow company had something considerably heavier waiting on the other side: a forklift. The attempted liberation ended with an estimated $2,500 in damage, a vehicle that was still very much inside the tow yard, and the man heading somewhere else entirely.
Eugene Police officers were called to a towing company in the 100 block of Cleveland Street at approximately 4:47 p.m. on August 31 following a report of a disorderly person. According to police, Scott Lee Fergason of Cottage Grove had arrived at the business intending to retrieve a vehicle being held in its secured lot.
Police said Fergason was unable to pay what was required to retrieve the vehicle, leading to an argument at the business. Rather than leaving the matter there, officers say he climbed over the property’s barbed-wire fence and made his way into the secured parking lot.
He Really Thought That Would Work
Once inside, Fergason allegedly got into the vehicle and used it to ram the tow yard’s gate. Police estimated the resulting damage at $2,500, suggesting that the attempt to avoid paying one bill may have created a considerably more expensive problem.
The tow yard also had a fairly effective backup plan waiting for anyone attempting to force their way out. A forklift was parked in front of the gate, blocking the vehicle from leaving despite the damage that had already been done.
Officers arrived before Fergason could get away and placed him under arrest. Eugene Police said Fergason admitted that he had used methamphetamine earlier that day, though the department did not list a DUI among the charges stemming from the incident.
Fergason was ultimately lodged at the Lane County Jail on charges of First-Degree Criminal Mischief and Second-Degree Criminal Trespass. What began as an attempt to retrieve a towed vehicle therefore ended without the vehicle, with a damaged gate, and with a trip to jail instead.
Comments and Reactions to the Eugene Tow Yard Incident
Plenty of commenters found the entire escape attempt difficult to take seriously, especially once methamphetamine entered the story. “No methin way!” one person joked, while another sarcastically described the situation as Fergason simply “trying to free his car,” and someone else quipped, “We’ve all been there – right?”
Others focused on the tow itself and showed at least some sympathy toward the frustration that may have preceded the incident. One person wondered how much the company charged per day, while another launched into a much more serious criticism of towing companies and argued that people can become trapped financially when they need their vehicles to get to work.
The fact that Fergason admitted to using methamphetamine also left some people wondering about the charges. One commenter questioned why police did not list a DUI, while another asked whether admitting to drug use could somehow lessen someone’s responsibility for what happened; based on the department’s post, however, Fergason was charged only with criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
Still, perhaps the simplest assessment came from the commenter who wrote that the tow company had “stolen the wrong guy’s car.” Whatever anyone thinks about towing fees, climbing a barbed-wire fence and trying to ram a vehicle through a gate guarded by a forklift certainly wasn’t the cheaper way of getting it back.