Tow truck driver killed 3 years ago honored with memorial procession

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — A local towing company paid respects to a fallen worker with a memorial procession Thursday.

Tatman's Towing began the procession exactly at 5:02 p.m., the time Ross Booker died on March 5, 2022.

Booker had been cleaning up debris in the road when he was hit by a 16-year-old on Neil Street in Champaign. He was taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries.

Every year since, Tatman's has led a procession from the shop to Booker's hometown of St. Joseph.

Jim Hampton, owner of Tatman's Towing, hopes the tradition will also bring attention to Scott's Law, an Illinois law that requires drivers slow down and move over for vehicles with emergency lights on.

"If you see lights flashing, use caution passing. We all want to get home safe at night," said Hampton. "That's our tag, and we want people to be aware of 'slow down and move over.' That's our job. We work on the side of the road and we never know where we're going to end up."