Wallingford Repossession Employees Hit Vehicle Owner Twice With a Car and Tow Truck: PD

This is something seemingly almost out of a bad reality television show.

A repossession company is trying to do just that when the car’s owner tries to stop that from happening, but ends up getting hit by their own car and having their foot run over by the tow truck, police said.

And this all happened in Orange in the Applebee’s parking lot.

Orange police say on Jan. 15 officers responded to the parking lot of the Applebee’s Restaurant at 526 Boston Post Road in regard to a disturbance.

Officers learned that the two arrestees, Elizabeth Vinall, 36, of Center Street in Wallingford and Ralph Iavarona Jr., 46, of Apple Street in Wallingford, are tow truck drivers affiliated with Cheap Auto Rental in Wallingford who attempted to repossess a vehicle that was parked in the lot.

The owner of the vehicle works in a nearby business, police said. When the car owner saw what was happening, she ran outside to stop the car from being taken, police said.

During the altercation, Vinall got into the car that was due to be repossessed and tried to drive away, striking the car’s owner in the process, police said.

When Vinall could not drive the car away from the scene, Iavarona pulled up with a tow truck in order to tow the car away, but he ran over the car owner’s foot in the process, police said.

Both repossession employees were taken into custody and charged for their actions. The car owner was given medical treatment for her injuries.

Vinall and Iavarona are both charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace. They were released on a $1,000 bond.