The truck was delivered to the body shop and I began my jousting matches with the insurance company to get the vehicle repaired to its "original condition". For a short while I kept in contact with Bob. His bill to the insurance company that covered towing was $1100. This price, he claimed, covered the wrecker, the wrecker damage and the rental of the D-4 and Fred. And a profit, of course.
Amazingly, the insurance company paid the bill. They, also removed the towing clause from insurance policies for four wheel drives. So now when you can't get towing covered on you four wheeler, you have me to thank.
In addition to dealing with the insurance company, I also got a call from our friends at the local office of the Coronado National Forest (administrated by the U.S. Forest Service). They were very interested in understanding why their erosion control work had been summarily erased. And, they were also very interested in understanding who was going to pay for the restoration of said erosion control berms. I, pleading ignorance, said that you should really talk to the wrecking company that orchestrated the extraction. They, I claimed, would know more about this issue. Wincing at the thought of siccing the Feds on Bob, I really didn't know what else to do. The worse case, I reasoned, would be that Bob would have to re-hire Fred to go repair the damage he caused. And, of course, this would be billable to the insurance company as part of the extraction expense.
I felt so bad about poor Bob's predicament, I went and bought him a new "Mr. Coffee" as a present for efforts "above and beyond the call of duty". "Son, I do this for a living". I never saw or talked to Bob again after I gave him that present. And, 20 years later at the time of creating this web page, I do not even know if he is still alive. Given the fact that he was in his mid-40's when this happened and he was a heavy smoker, I have my doubts.
I guess if there is any good to be found in this series of events, it was the experience I gained in dealing with tense off-roading situations and with people. The message is "Don't get into a situation you can get yourself out of". Poor grammar, good advise. Additionally, I learned about what insurance companies do, or don't do as in this case. Old Blaze was never really restored to its factory quality. The body shop cut corners at every chance. The stereo was replaced with an inferior quality unit. Tires were replaced with the cheapest brand available, and so on. Perhaps I was being punished for "gouging" the insurance company on the towing bill. After all, $1100 is a sizable towing bill. Perhaps it was due to the fact I had to report to my first out-of-college job in San Diego during the repairs and was not able to oversee their efforts. Either way, the lesson is that "this type of situation is best avoided." And, to this day (1998), I have never repeated anything of this level of severity. Several near-death experiences, but that is a story for a different day.