CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Jason Saldana has been a tow truck driver for a few years now. On Thursday, he was responding to calls from the Corpus Christi Police Department for vehicles that needed to be impounded.
Braving the cold, he hooked up cars to his truck with one goal in mind, to stay warm.
“Load up the vehicle as fast as we can, clear up the roadway, stay warm in the truck,” he said.
He said last year he worked during the big freeze, and had to slow down his speed to two miles per hour on icy roads. He said his job is not just about staying warm during the winter weather, but also driving safe on the roads.
“Watch your speed, slow down, get there as safely and slow as possible,” Saldana said.
Justin Watson, Apollo Towing’s Operations manager, said they encourage their workers to layer up in order to prepare for the cold weather.
“Safety is our first priority, whether it’s on the side of the road or dealing with the cold or the heat, specifically with the cold, we always ask our operators to wear thermals, wear gloves if you have them, wear your beanies, and stay warm,” Watson said.
Dr. Scott Krall, a physician at Amistad Community Health Center, said you can get hypothermia in this weather if you’re not careful. He said you should be aware if you or someone else has slurred speech, drowsiness, memory loss, and confusion.
“You probably need to go inside and get some place warm. You may have some poor coordination. You may not be able to manipulate things with your hands as well as you previously could,” Dr. Krall said.
