Dozens of tow trucks form a procession to show respect to fallen driver near Yorkton

Tow trucks lined a southeastern Saskatchewan highway Saturday morning on the way to a funeral for a fellow driver, killed in a collision.

“I’m in the first three tow trucks and I can’t see the end of the line,” said Dallas Baillie, who runs Baillie Boys Towing out of Yorkton.

It was to honour Courtney Schaefer, who died in a four-vehicle crash involving a semi and his tow truck on Highway 22 near Gerald during a blizzard on March 7.

The procession saw two groups of drivers, one starting in Yorkton the other starting in Whitewood. They met at the junction of Highway 9 and Highway 22, near Stockholm at 9:35 a.m. and headed to Esterhazy, where the funeral was held.

“I love the tow truck industry because we’re family,” Baillie said. “We all have one common goal and it’s not about lining our pockets, it’s about helping people.”

 Baillie said despite the success of the procession it’s still a somber day.

“Every time our phone rings we don’t know what to expect,” he said. “When you lose somebody in the industry it makes you think twice how risky the job can be sometimes.”