A Williamsburg tow truck operator got a nasty surprise when he left his home to go on an early-morning run for Kentucky State Police Tuesday morning.
Larry Wilson, owner of Wilson’s Auto Repair and Towing on Blakes Fork Rd., said he walked out his door to see one of his company’s four tow trucks on fire.
Wilson said he quickly grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and put out the blaze, but not before it did an estimated $2,000 damage to a door, some lights and the fuel tank.
Police are investigating the case as arson. Wilson said it was clear someone intentionally tried to destroy his truck.
“They had stuffed a rag in the fuel tank, poured gas on it and poured a trail of gas across the parking lot then lit it,” he said. “This is the first time anything like this has happened to me. I don’t have no idea why anyone would do it.”
The truck remained in service and Wilson said he was able to use it to tow the vehicle for state police.
“When I came out, I didn’t see nobody. That’s what gets me,” he said. “Usually, you don’t get in my parking lot without me knowing it.”
Wilson said there’s a gate that blocks entrance to his lot, but that the suspects simply circumvented it.
Wilson’s Auto Repair and Towing has been in business for 24 years.
Police collected evidence from the scene Tuesday including a jug the culprits used to douse the tow truck with gas. Wilson said police were also trying to get fingerprints.
“There’s quite a bit of stuff,” he said. “We’ll see what we can find out.”
Deputy Glenn Bunch with the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case.
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