SAFEclear + FEMA = free tows for Hurricane Rita evacuees who abandoned their cars.
On Houston freeways only:
Evacuees forced to leave cars along freeways because they broke down or ran out of gas may face another nightmare — paying expensive tow and storage fees to get them back.
It all depends on location. If the car was left on a highway within Houston, the city will pay the bill.
Anywhere else, you’re on your own.
Frank Michel, the city’s communication director, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the city $124 for each car towed under its Safe Clear mandatory tow program.
”The tow operators have agreed to do away with the rest of the fees,” Michel said.
Chris Streeter, owner of a trucking company, is among the unlucky ones.
She’s looking at more than $700 to retrieve her 18-wheeler, which was towed by law enforcement from Interstate 45 in Spring, an unincorporated area, after its alternator went bad Thursday.
Streeter said her towing bill is $633.59 for the cab and $59.54 for the trailer. She also has to pay the impound lot $35 per day, she said.
”I was stunned when they told me,” she said. ”It’s just unreal. You’re gonna have a lot of people upset by this.”
Is this SAFEclear’s last hurrah?
