I am sorry I did not see your post earlier, but I was anticipating it.
I was the one there that day.
Here is my account of what transpired that day:
After you left, the GL guy said that he had to move a M1009 out of the way in order to get to mine. He got his Big Loader (don't know what its really called) and backed it up to your vehicle. He stated that he would not use the one remaining tow hook on the front of your vehicle as it would pull it at an angle. He then proceeded to lay down on the pallet that was underneath the front of the vehicle with the chain he had brought. I assumed that he was wrapping it around the axle, because that's what I would have done. He then asked if I could steer it and apply the brakes if necessary. I agreed to do that. He gave me the set of universal keys and instructed me to make sure it was in neutral. I got in the vehicle, inserted the keys, unlocked the steering and put it in neutral. When he started pulling it, I noticed that it wasn't steering. I waved at him to stop. Then I noticed that the emergency brake had been applied and unlocked it. When I stepped out of the vehicle I noticed that he had pulled the vehicle approximately 10 feet thru the mud and that the steering linkage had been bent. I told him that the emergency brake had been applied and that the steering linkage had been bent. I pointed out to him the way the tires were now angled inwards. I stated that the owner was not going to like it and would probably now have trouble getting it on a trailer. He did not seem overly concerned. He said that we still needed to get it pulled further out of the way. I got back in and he pulled it another 20 or so feet.
After seeing what happened to your vehicle, I quickly went to the rear of my vehicle, figured out how to remove the tow hooks and placed them in the front. After he pulled my vehicle out of the mud, I lined the trailer up to my vehicle. He then told me that he would use his big loader to push my vehicle onto my trailer as it was getting late and he had to close the yard. It was around 2:30pm. He used his big loader to push my vehicle onto my trailer, crushing the exhaust in the process. As soon as I got the 1st strap on, he told me I would have to pull out of the yard and finish strapping it down as he had to close the yard. I did so and he left.
It is my opinion that the GL guy was simply in a big hurry to get off work and was not willing to take the time to do things right. It would not have been difficult to put another tow hook on the front to tow yours. I assumed that the GL guy knew what he was doing.
I am sorry that I did not notice the emergency brake. I never apply the emergency brake on a vehicle with an automatic transmission just to park it, so it was a bit of a shock to me.
Please PM me if you need anything else.
