Tow companies see surge in calls after storms flood Milwaukee streets, strand drivers

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Tow companies across the Milwaukee area say they saw a spike in calls after Wednesday night’s severe storms, as conditions quickly went downhill.

“I would say our call volume almost doubled from a normal Wednesday night,” said Jeff Piller, owner of All City Towing.

What started as steady rain quickly turned dangerous - flooding roads, stalling cars, and leaving some drivers stranded with nowhere to go.

“A lot of cars that were spun out of the freeway and cars that hit curbs. The water is just dangerous to drive in,” he said.

At Dotboyz Auto, Javontae Dotson said his crews saw a range of problems as conditions worsened.

“Some of them fell in the ditch and some of them ran through a puddle and the car just shut off,” he said.

Dotson said crews were out for more than 14 hours straight responding to flood calls and helping stranded drivers - many of whom were shaken.

“Cars stuck again, flooding, we’ve seen waist high water,” he said.

“A lot of them were frustrated, panicking. We would tell them to calm down and that they're safe now,” he added.

Even as floodwaters begin to recede, tow companies say the calls are still coming in as abandoned vehicles are cleared from roadways.

“Now that the roads are open because the flood water went down these vehicles are just blocking the roads so we’re being called out to move them so traffic can flow,” Piller said.

As cleanup continues, Dotson has a simple message for drivers when severe weather hits again:

“Stay home if you don’t have to go out,” he said.