It seems there was a hospital emergency involving one of Wright’s grandchildren. The mother (his daughter) asked for babysitting help with another of her kids. Like any good dad, Wright jumped in to help out and drove the kid home to take care of her.

He parked in his son-in-law’s empty stall. But of course he lacked an official parking sticker on the window or the right license plate number.

That was enough for the greedy fascists of the towing company. These companies typically strike deals with property managers for unfettered towing rights, and they keep an eagle eye on the parking stalls. Neither they nor the managers seem to give a darn why a particular vehicle might be there. They just don’t care.

Note that nobody had complained that there was an unknown car in the lot that was occupying a space a resident needed after the visitor deadline of 6 p.m.

Shouldn’t a tenant be able to let somebody park in his stall if he wants them to?

Wright’s case was one of a towing company looking for easy money. It had to be that because it certainly wasn’t a case of fixing a genuine problem. There wasn’t one. This was nothing but a heavy-handed show of jerksmanship.

A more civilized approach would have been to go knock on the door of the residence and ask why an unauthorized vehicle was in the parking space. Unfortunately, civilized behavior seems to be in ever shorter supply these days.

By luck, Wright’s daughter showed up in time to notice her dad’s car being towed. An argument ensued and cops were called. Eventually, Wright got his car back after paying a $189 fee.

Ridiculous episodes often trigger legislation, and Wright’s case is another example. And rightly so. There was neither justice nor common sense anywhere in sight. And so the whole towing industry in Utah will likely have one heartless company to thank when the Utah Legislature rains on their greed parade.

Provo mayor John Curtis, to his credit, has been looking for solutions to predatory towing for months. When he blogged about it, there was a major eruption of frustration from residents around the area.

Curtis was on target when he wrote that virtually all the towing frustration in Provo “happens when the towing company is left unrestrained to tow at their discretion.” And he was right to enlist the help of Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, to look at legislative solutions to keep towing companies in line.

The Utah Professional Towing Association shields itself from common sense by citing their agreements with landlords — basically, “We’re only doing what we’re told.”

Well, we’ll see how that works out for you. Stratton is making the towing bill one of his priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, is expected to be the Senate sponsor of the bill should it pass the House.

Are towing companies to blame for unfair hooks? Would you support a new state law that limits their unfettered actions?

Send your comments to dhpolls@heraldextra.com or call 344-2942. Please leave your name, hometown and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voice-mail comments should be no longer than 30 seconds. Anonymous and unverifiable responses will not be published.

The Daily Herald will publish comments on Jan. 20.