Santa Clarita family gets car back after getting car towed during family emergency

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- A tow truck company had a change of heart after a dispute with a Santa Clarita family.

Scott and Wendy Peterson and their two adopted children have had a rough few months. Scott had a heart attack and his heart stopped beating. He spent three weeks in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. When the family returned home their car had been towed.

"We were spending nights in the hospital with the kids and so on for a while," Scott said

The family car had been parked in their neighborhood for three weeks. When Wendy brought medical records to the city and the sheriff's office, fees were waived. They encountered a different reaction when they got to Wolf's Towing in Santa Clarita.

"They told me that everybody has a story and I said I don't think anyone has a story like ours. I would just appreciate it if you could please take a look at our documents and waive the fees because this is a really difficult time. I was told 'do you want your car or not?'" Wendy said.

The bill to get the car was more than $600 which included a fee for every day the car was left at the lot.

The Peterson's say they couldn't afford to pay the fees and their plan was to simply give the car up to the tow company.

The owner of the company caught wind of the situation. He was unaware of the circumstances and has since returned the family's car to them free of charge.

The Petersons say despite the difficult ordeal people in their community have been supportive. One friend started a Go Fund Me page to help them out.

"It's a little bit of a comfort to know that there's people out there that have compassion about situations that are sort of rough," Scott Peterson said.

A gofundme page has been set up to assist the family.