Tow truck driver charged with DUI claims he was drinking with company owner

BRENTWOOD, Pa. — A tow truck driver charged with DUI told police he was drinking with the company’s owner before getting pulled over.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by Channel 11, Shawn Banks was pulled over at the intersection of Route 51 and Greenlee Road in Brentwood last week while driving a Tag Towing truck.

Before conducting a field sobriety test, Banks told the officer he had had a couple of beers while “drinking earlier at the shop with the owner, and another laborer from the company."

Banks failed his field sobriety test.

Tag Towing is part of a class action lawsuit for predatory towing practices, receiving criticism from customers, city leaders an even Pittsburgh police.

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Tag Towing owner Brian Haenze said Banks was not in a tow truck when he was pulled over, but a pickup truck owned by the company.

He also said they weren’t drinking together the night of the DUI because he was out of town and the entire incident happened when Banks was off the clock.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Tag Towing and another company last month by a Pittsburgh lawyer, accusing them of predatory towing practices.

We asked attorney Phil DiLucente if the details in the DUI case against Banks could have any impact on the civil case against the company.

“It all depends on how the judge would rule. If it's admissible, number one, and two, the weight it would be given,” he said.

A tag towing employee briefly spoke to Channel 11 and questioned some of the details given by police in the criminal complaint.

The attorney who filed the civil lawsuit against the company last month didn't respond to our calls and emails either.

Cox Media Group