Fundraising efforts underway for family of tow truck driver hit, killed on Parkway West

PITTSBURGH — A fundraising effort is underway to aid the family of a local tow truck driver who was hit and killed while doing his job late Wednesday evening.

>>> Person killed in hit-and-run on Parkway West

Fellow drivers are leading the effort. They are collecting money at Bloomfield’s Little Italy Days that will go directly to the family of Husam Shuibat. He was a father of eight and had worked as a tow truck driver on and off for a decade.

“Father of eight, yes. And, he just went to work doing his job, taking care of someone trying to get home to their family. Unfortunately, he didn’t get home to his family,” Nick Milanovich said. He owns Kendall Towing.

The group is also spreading a message.

“We want people to slow down and move over,” driver John Dewees said.

Dewees knows the consequences of getting injured on the job. He was struck in a construction zone eight years ago and it almost cost him his life.

“I became addicted to pain medication, eventually was homeless, got on heroin and almost ended my own life,” he said.

Dewees has been clean for seven years and has made it his mission to spread the message of safety.

The group is also planning a “final ride” in honor of Shuibat. That’ll happen on Saturday.

Drivers will take off from a Mosque on Washington Avenue in Carnegie at 1:30 p.m. and stop in Monroeville.

If you’d like to know more about the fundraising effort, you can visit “Towsfortots Pgh” on Facebook.

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