Road vulture

>> Dorval tow-truck driver swoops down and hauls away injured cars

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Caroline Crevier

Age: 23

Occupation: Tow-truck driver

Employer: Remorquage Burstall Conrad

Salary: $38,000 annually based on a 60-hour week

Bio: This sultry goddess of a tow-truck driver has been rescuing autos in distress for almost five years. A Dorval babe, she was raised in St-Lazare and prior to her stint in the towing trade earned her keep by labouring on local farms and working on a factory assembly line producing fire hoses. "I love the towing business. You never know where you're going to go or who you're going to meet. It's really exciting. I have to work long 12-hour shifts when it gets really busy but it's okay because my adrenaline keeps me going."

Something many motorists like to call her: A vulture. "Because they think we tow-truck drivers are just waiting around for something to die. Downtown it's worse. They call us sharks over there because whenever there is an accident you can usually find four or five tow trucks circling around the damage. Especially during the slow season."

Do towing sharks ever end up eating each other feuding over broken down cars to service? Sometimes, when work is really slow and drivers are getting desperate.

Do people who run out of gas generally feel as stupid as they ought to? Some do, but most don't. "I do a lot more of these calls after gas prices go up because people don't like to buy any more gas than they have to when prices are high."

One place she likes to hang out waiting for customers: Around elevated on-and-off ramps after they have frozen during surprise cold snaps.

Are people generally surprised to have a female tow truck driver come rescue them? Almost always. "At first they think I'm just a guy with long hair and then I start to speak and they go, like, 'Oh wow, that's cool.'"

Do young males generally feel lame when they have to call her in to change a tire for them? "Often they do. I had one guy whose face was beet red when I got down on my knees to put on his spare."

Something she does on summer weekends: Volunteers her time and truck to tow cars at racetracks in Mont-Tremblant and Ste-Eustache.

Something that she used to do on her weekends: Caroline used to ride wild broncos on the local rodeo circuit. She says she won a lot of ribbons and a bit of money that is now long gone.

Did her private area ever take a serious beating after riding wild bronco's all day? "No, it doesn't hurt so bad down there. The pain is more in the wrists, and, of course, there is the risk of breaking bones if you fall off."

Where she hangs out: "Nowhere really. I used to be much more of a party animal. Sometimes I still go out to Le Cachet and Cheers and other West Island places."

Last book read: The Anatomy of Motive, by John Douglas.

Musical preferences: Floyd, The Doors, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain

Fave TV shows: Dark Angel, Discovery Channel and a lot of Fox programming.

Quote: "I'm a big smiley person and my smile makes me go. If I can make someone's day then I'm happy." :

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