Wrecker driver killed in hit-and-run overnight in Fort Worth

The driver of a flatbed wrecker was killed in a hit-and-run in Fort Worth overnight.

Fort Worth police responded to the incident on Interstate 35W near Sycamore School Road just after midnight.

Driver Charles McGough, 51, was on the outside shoulder attempting to load a car onto his flatbed wrecker with Wicked Towing. While working the controls on the driver’s side, he was reportedly struck by a car and that driver took off.

McGough died at the scene. His fiance, Amy Jo Iserman, said McGough was a great person to be with.

"He was a good man who loved helping people. He was a hunter, fisherman, loved the outdoors,” she said. “He loved riding motorcycles and loved his Dallas Cowboys! He loved his family and had a good heart."

Jody Sebastian with Cowboy Towing didn’t know McGough personally, but he still feels his family’s pain. As a long-time tow truck driver himself, he knows well the dangers of the job.

“I was saddened but not shocked, unfortunately,” he said. “It’s not just the one lane next to you that’s going to get you, It’s all of them can come at you.”

Police say the suspect vehicle is a white semi-truck that was pulling a grain-type trailer with a gray tarp. It will likely have damage to the front right side, including the right headlight and fiberglass damage.

Sebastian and his coworkers have become advocates for the Move Over/Slow Down Law that requires drivers to slow down 20 miles under the speed limit or move over for fire, police, EMS, road crews and tow trucks.

“We lose about 50 to 60 people on average. That’s six times more than any other responder that’s out there on the roadside,” he explained.

That number is each year. Sebastian says, this year alone, 43 tow truck drivers have been killed the job in the U.S. Three of them have been killed since Saturday, including McGough. 

“Anyone working on the side of the roadway, just be courteous. Use common sense. Move over,” Sebastian said. “Give us the opportunity to go home in the evening.”

All southbound lanes of I-35 at Alta Mesa in Fort Worth were shut down for quite some time but re-opened as rush hour began.

Fort Worth PD is investigating and on the lookout for the hit-and-run driver.