What to do right after a crash

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt or if a vehicle is blocking traffic. In Pueblo, police will usually come to crashes with injuries or damage that blocks the road.
2. Move out of traffic if you can. A drivable car should get to a shoulder, a side street, or a parking lot. Leave a wrecked car where it sits if moving it is unsafe.
3. Exchange information with the other driver: names, phone numbers, license plates, and insurance details. Take photos of the damage and the scene if it is safe to do so.
4. Decide where the car goes before the truck arrives. You have the right to choose where your vehicle is towed. A body shop you trust, your home, or a storage lot are all your call.
5. Call for the tow. Tell us where the crash happened, what the car is, and how it is damaged: wheels bent, axle broken, airbags out, leaking fluid. That tells the driver what equipment to bring.

How accident towing works

Wrecked vehicles rarely load like healthy ones. Wheels may be turned sideways or torn off, steering may be locked, and the car may be sitting in gravel, against a rail, or down an embankment off US 50. Accident recovery handles that:

• Flatbed loading for damaged vehicles. The car is winched onto a flatbed so nothing drags. Bent wheels and locked drivetrains ride instead of rolling.
• Skates and dollies for wheels that will not turn or are missing entirely.
• Winching at the scene when the vehicle left the pavement. If the car went off the road, see also winch out and recovery.
• Debris at the scene. Glass, trim, and loose parts around the vehicle are gathered up with the car, not left in the roadway.
• Tow to your destination. Body shop, home, or storage. If the car goes to storage, ask on the phone what storage involves so there are no surprises later.

Insurance and accident tows

Many insurance policies cover towing after a covered crash, and roadside or motor club plans often do too. Coverage is between you and your insurer, and we cannot promise what your policy will pay. What we can do:

• Give you the total price on the phone before the truck rolls, so you know the number whether insurance covers it or not.
• Give you a receipt for the tow that you can send to your insurer for reimbursement.
• Tow the car where you say, not where anyone else prefers. The choice of destination is yours.

If your insurer or motor club is sending their own truck and you are told to wait, that is your choice too. If you would rather not wait on a shoulder, calling directly is always an option and you can sort reimbursement out after.

Common crash spots in Pueblo

Crashes cluster where traffic mixes at speed: the I-25 interchanges at Eagleridge Boulevard, US 50, and City Center Drive; the Santa Fe Avenue corridor through downtown; Northern Avenue on the South Side; and the US 50 bypass across the east side. Winter ice on the Arkansas River bridges and summer fair traffic around the fairgrounds add their own wrecks. Wherever it happens in Pueblo or Pueblo West, the process is the same: police first if needed, then a truck that can load a car that cannot roll.

After the tow

If the car is badly damaged and you are deciding whether it is worth fixing, ask the shop for a real estimate before you pay for repairs. If the answer is that the car is done, junk car removal can take it off your hands from wherever it sits. If the car is worth fixing and your shop is out of town, long distance towing covers the haul.