Towing companies help hundreds of drivers stranded in the cold

Towing companies have been very busing helping drivers stranded in the cold.

Since midnight, AAA’s Roadside Rescue Team has received over 440 calls for help.

>> RELATED: AAA Roadside Rescue Team urges motorists to use caution in the snow

News Center 7’s Monica Castro talked with Sandy’s Towing about the kinds of calls they’re getting and what to do to keep your car going.

Sandy’s was flooded with hundreds of calls for slide-offs, cars that won’t start or cars that have stopped working due to extreme cold.

Sandy’s co-owner, Doug Thoma, and his fleet of drivers have been running all weekend long.

“Friday night to about six this morning we ran in the vicinity of 600 calls,” he said. “We’re seeing a big problem with that batteries have held up and when they get the first hard freeze, it shot those.”

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Thoma says they’ve also had some cars that stop abruptly mid-drive.

“If the least little bit of water is in the fuel line, it can stop a car in seconds,” he said.

If you do get stranded, Thoma says to try and call a friend for a ride because it could take towing companies several hours to get to you due to the high volume of calls from the weekend.

“If there is a way to do it, have somebody pick you up. If we can’t get there quick enough, we don’t want you freezing in your car or someone coming along and hitting you,” he said.

>> RELATED: AAA winter weather driving tips

Thoma suggests drivers to keep an emergency kit in their car with extra supplies such as food, water, extra jackets and blankets.

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