Slaying of tow-truck driver Sunday not the first

The violent death of Ray Santiago on Sunday isn't the first example of violence erupting between members of the city's ruthless towing industry, but it may be the worst.

Santiago, 30, who worked for Siani's Towing, was run over repeatedly by a truck allegedly driven by Glen McDaniel, 25, a driver with Straight Up Towing, around 2:45 a.m. Police believe the men got into an argument in the parking lot of O'Reilly's Pub, in Kensington. Police said the argument had to do with a woman or an ongoing dispute between the men over towing territory, or possibly both.

McDaniel, of the 2800 block of Aramingo Avenue, has been charged with murder, homicide by vehicle and related offenses. He was arrested shortly after he ran over Santiago, police said.

Friends have placed flowers, photographs and candles at the spot where Santiago died as a tribute to him.

The competitive nature of Philadelphia's towing business came to light in July, after police charged a tow-truck driver with shooting a driver from a rival company in the leg over a disputed crash scene.

The violence led City Councilman James F. Kenney to propose that the city's towing system be handed over to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Currently, when cars break down or are involved in accidents, the city is supposed to dispatch tow trucks according to a rotating list, so that the companies share the work. But towing companies have argued that they are rarely called, and that often when they are, trucks from rival companies are already on the scene by the time they get there. That often leads to multiple drivers rushing to be first on a crash scene, in order to snag the customer.

Before July's violence, television producers at the network TLC had already greenlit a reality series following several of the city's tow-truck drivers on the job. The show, Wreck Chasers, debuts Oct. 28.