Colleagues remember a fallen tow truck driver killed in a wrong-way crash on I-271

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) – Dozens of two trucks pulled away from A&I Automotive Saturday afternoon, following Henry Banks’ final drive in tribute to the fallen driver.

“Right now we are all hurting because we have lost a great driver,” said colleague Kaylee Peet of A&I Automotive, who helped organize the ride.

“Henry was a friend,” added Isaiah Thomas, also of A&I, where Banks worked. ‘He just wasn’t an employee here. He’s a family man, a great puller, a great guy. It’s just a shame that this happened.”

Early Monday morning, Henry Banks and a wrong-way driver were both killed on I-271 Northbound when a Toyota Tundra traveling the wrong way crashed head-on into Henry’s tow truck just north of Chagrin Boulevard.

“Thank God we can celebrate him today,” Thomas said.

The parade started at A&I in Bedford Heights and took the trucks past the accident site on Pepper Pike, a ride that commemorated a man, but also the dangers of a job that are never far from anyone’s thoughts.

“It was tough, man, it was tough, going out and making these calls,” said Jacob Shucofsky with ALCAR Recovery. “We are concerned about wrong-way drivers and people who do not slow down and cross the road.”

Drivers are putting stickers on their windows to raise awareness about wrong-way crashes and basic road safety.

“Pay attention, triple check, double check, do whatever you need to do, even stop and look before you get on the highway,” Peet said. “Do whatever it takes to make sure you get on the highway in the right direction, because it could be your life, it could be someone else’s.”

The monument at the scene of the accident is a tribute to the husband and father of three young children and also serves as a reminder of road safety.

“I want them to know that we all have families, and our jobs are hard enough,” Shucofsky said. “We have loved ones to go home to and it’s tough.”

“I know he’s gone, but he will live with us forever,” Thomas said. “We love Henry Banks and we will keep his name forever.”

Henry Banks’ family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for his funeral expenses.

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