Two Ohio Tow Truck Drivers Fatally Injured On The Job.

An east side business today is remembering a longtime employee who was killed on the job. The worker faced a common hazard when he was fatally injured. 60 year old William Houck worked the overnight shift at the Broad and James Towing Company. But, as he was hooking a disabled car on the berm of Interstate 71 at Cooke road early Saturday morning,  Houck was struck and killed by a driver who veered off the pavement. Broad and James owner Jim Shriner says Houck worked for the company for 26 years and knew safety procedures. "He was more than an employee, he was a family member really. He was a friend to everybody, friend to me, friend of my brother, friend to most of the employees here."  Says Shriner. As a veteran driver, Houck trained other tow operators, including Marvin Petty. "It gets crazy out there. You've got to watch the cars as they're going by and pay less attention to the car you're towing because people going by don't pay attention to the tow truck driver."  Says Petty. Columbus police say alcohol could be a contributing factor in the fatal accident. Houck was one of two tow truck drivers killed on the job last week-end. Both were working on disabled vehicles on interstate highways. Ohio has a so-called "Slow Down-Move Over" law that requires drivers to give more room to both emergency vehicles and tow trucks alongside highways. An industry group that monitors tow truck driver fatalities counts 36 so far this year, including three from Ohio.