Tow Trucks line the streets at Palm Mortuary and Cemetery in Henderson Saturday, September 3, 2011 as part of a funeral procession in honor of Daniel “Big Dann” Collins, who was killed while helping a truck driver who was stranded along an Arizona highway.
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011 | 12:32 p.m.
Beyond the Sun
Friends and family say that when 47-year-old Daniel “Big Dann” Collins, owner of Big Valley Towing in Las Vegas, set out on Aug. 24 to tow a car on Interstate 10 from Arizona to Las Vegas, he was doing what he loved.
His wife says he was so mechanically inclined that he could tell what was wrong with a car by the sound of its engine.
“When your car breaks down, where is it going to break down? On the side of the highway, and he’d be there to help you out,” said Debbie Collins, his wife of five years.
But that day ended much differently. Although it is still unclear as to what happened, Collins’ wife says police reported that her husband was hit by a truck carrying an oversized load, killing him immediately. The accident remains under investigation.
As she tries to make sense of her husband’s death, she is comforted by the words of people who had met Dann Collins, some of whom offered to drive more than 50 tow trucks in a procession to his funeral at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave.
“I didn’t realize how many peoples’ lives he touched,” she said. “(The procession) is to show respect and it means the world to me.”
Local towers, some of whom say Collins helped them get into the Las Vegas towing business, started at Texas Station, heading to Palm Mortuary and Cemetery Saturday morning, where they laid their friend to rest.
Jimi Matson, Collin’s coworker and close friend, said the procession was to symbolize a fallen comrade in the towing brotherhood.
“Dann Collins was the godfather of towing in Las Vegas,” said Matson.
Leading the procession in her father’s big red truck, 20-year-old Janelle Collins said she knows her father would have loved to see all of his friends come together.
“It’s pretty amazing to see how many people have been touched by his presence,” said Collins.
As for Big Valley Towing, Debbie Collins said she plans to run it on her own because that’s what her husband would have wanted.
“For me to curl up in a ball and forget about the business — he’d be kicking my butt,” said Collins. “I can hear him in my head saying, “There you go, chick. You can do it.”
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