Co-workers call tow truck driver 'textbook' guy

Editor's Note: This report includes details from trial testimony that may be disturbing.

A Colorado Springs tow truck driver’s reputation as a “textbook" guy drew fire Friday as defense attorneys for Detra Farries peppered his former co-workers with questions over safe towing procedures.

“Is it textbook to hook a cable to a running vehicle?” public defender Jeremy Loew asked John Stellabotte, who described dragging-victim Allen Lew Rose as a “textbook kind of guy” and a stickler for safety.

Stellabotte answered “no” and said he wouldn’t chase after a fleeing vehicle, either — as multiple eyewitnesses said Rose did. Stellabotte and another former co-worker driver were called to testify by the defense.

How the towing unfolded has been a central concern at Farries’ trial. She is accused of three felonies in Rose’s death, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Her defense attorneys say Rose, co-owner of J & J Towing, courted danger on Feb. 23 by hooking a cable onto Farries’ rear axle as she pulled away to avoid a $70 tow fee.

Witnesses have testified Rose ran after Farries and was snagged by the cable behind her vehicle as she turned out of Hill Park Apartments and onto northbound Murray Boulevard.
Rose, 35, was dragged at speeds of up to 50 mph for 1.4 miles — until he slipped out of his boots and skidded to a halt on Platte Avenue.

Stellabotte and J & J Towing driver James Ward testified that Rose never worked without brightly colored safety gear on and would snap at co-workers whenever he saw a breach of safety protocols.

Stellabotte grew choked with emotion while describing his friend. “I can’t work. I feel guilty that I should be the one and Allen should be here talking about me.”

He said he and Rose had become business partners 2 1/2 years earlier, after Rose, an Iraq War veteran and married father of two, got out of the Army and agreed to give the tow business a shot.

Stellabotte said it would be unlikely or impossible to throw tow hooks onto the vehicle, as two eyewitnesses have testified. To reach the axle, it would probably be necessary to lie under the vehicle, he said.

Ward said the axle could possibly be reached from a kneeling position.

When Loew demonstrated the bowler’s toss described by a witness, Ward suggested it could end in a lucky grab.

“With a good shot you could, I guess, but I’ve never tried,” he said.

In questioning Stellabotte, prosecutor Jeff Lindsey suggested such a throw would be impossible and raised questions about other aspects of eyewitness testimony about how Rose went about attaching the cable.

“If you threw a hook 10 times, you would probably miss whatever you were throwing it at 10 times, right Mr. Stellabotte?” Lindsey asked.

Stellabotte said the 100-pound chain would stop the hook’s forward momentum.

Defense attorneys questioned whether Rose’s haste to collect a “drop fee” could explain his actions.

Tow drivers try to move quickly because if a hook is attached, police officers are more likely to side with them if the tow is disputed, the company’s drivers told Colorado Springs police after the tragedy.

Once a vehicle is hooked, drivers must pay a fee for the vehicle to be dropped.

Ward told police that was the only explanation he could give for why Rose didn’t tilt the bed of his flatbed truck — which Ward says he does every time.

Stellabotte said the decision to lower the bed is made on a case-by-case basis.

Questioning turned contentious when the defense asked Stellabotte about his felony convictions. After he said he wouldn’t discuss the matter, Loew pointed out convictions for aggravated motor theft and drug sales.

In other testimony, Colorado Springs police detective Shawn Peterson said Farries waived her right to remain silent and volunteered for a blood draw and urine test. During questioning, she denied knowing she had dragged anything, he said.

The defense began presenting its case on Thursday, after 10 days of evidence and witnesses put on by the prosecution.

When the trial resumes Tuesday morning, jurors will watch a 2 1/2-hour video of Peterson’s interrogation of Farries. It’s unclear if she will testify.