Original subtitles

[Narrator] This time on Heavy Rescue: 401...

[Narrator] ...closed highway...

[Narrator] ...raises tensions.

Go on! Get!

Go!

[Narrator] A challenging load

fights back...

Whoa.

[Narrator] ...and Gary and Collin...

[Gary] Never had this many vehicles on its side

in one location.

[Narrator] ...face the biggest test.

[Collin] It's gonna be a pain.

[Narrator] A ridge of high pressure

is giving drivers in Toronto

an early preview of spring...

[Narrator] ...but after months of snow, some...

are hitting the gas a little too hard.

[Narrator] High speeds

put police on high alert.

[sirens wailing]

On days like today, we get a lot of crashes.

They get going a little too fast,

not paying attention.

[Narrator] On the western edge of the city,

veteran constable John Hominsky

is ready for whatever the 401 throws his way.

We go to the serious incidents

that occur on the highway.

If there's nothing going on,

then just kind of roll out and do some enforcement.

You know, speeding, cell phones,

aggressive driving.

[Narrator] Today,

he's expecting to see speed...

[Hominsky] Pretty unexpected.

[Narrator] ...but what catches his eye

is just the opposite.

We're doing 60 kilometres an hour.

It's posted 100.

It's just a hazard waiting to happen.

[siren chirps]

[Hominsky] Speeding is bad,

but if you're going too slow,

it's also very dangerous.

You're going to get run into.

Hi, how are you, sir?

The reason I'm stopping

is just because you were doing

about 65, 70 kilometres an hour

out in the left lane there.

You need to be driving either in the slower lanes

when you're out there.

It's 100 kilometre-an-hour zone out here.

Somebody's going to run into the back of you.

Driving 75,

that's as fast as he likes to drive.

[Hominsky] This driver,

he didn't realize that going that slow

was a big problem,

so I didn't think just education

was enough for him.

I do have a ticket for you

just for being out in the left lane there

driving at that slow speed.

[Hominsky] People are going to come up behind you,

and they're going to have to avoid you very quickly,

and if there's somebody to their right or to their left,

they're going to lose control and cause a collision.

There he goes, now he's found the gas pedal.

If you just go with the flow of traffic,

you get to where you're going.

[Narrator] Later that morning,

on the other side of the city...

[Narrator] ...the flow of traffic

has come to a hard stop.

[traffic news radio] We have a collision now,

eastbound on the 401 in the express

just before Leslie.

Two right lanes

and the right shoulder are blocked,

causing quite a backup.

[Narrator] A straight truck

has slammed right into the back of a slow-moving semi.

[Tim Dunnah] We have one person

with possibly life-altering injuries,

and the highway's gotta be shut down for investigation.

[Narrator] Constable Tim Dunnah

is working to manage the scene...

Can you get some good photos of the steering wheel?

[Narrator] ...and it will be up to John Hominsky

to lead the investigation.

[Hominsky] As a commercial motor vehicle inspector,

after a crash,

I try to look at all the components,

steering, braking, tires,

anything that might have contributed to the collision.

[Narrator] Until they can finish the investigation,

all eastbound express lanes

will have to stay closed.

[Dunnah] Shutting down the express lanes

is not a decision that we take lightly.

We have to do it

so the officers and rescue teams have a safe space to work.

Our main goal here is to get the highway open

as quick as we can.

[honking]

[Narrator] Until they do,

they risk unwanted attention

from drivers in adjacent lanes

which are still moving.

[honking]

[Hominsky] Every time we have an accident on the highway,

there's a huge risk

of secondary collisions happening.

[passing trucks honking]

Go on! Get!

-[truck honking] -Go, go!

[♪♪♪]

[traffic news radio] We are dealing

with quite a few problems

if you're just making your way out this hour.

Eastbound 401 really not moving

starting from Keele Street

to approaching Leslie in the express.

Look at traffic just rammed all the way.

[Narrator] Just before noon,

Abrams lead op John Allen rolls up on scene.

[John Allen] Man, oh, man,

this thing is messed right up, this truck.

Let's go have a better look,

see what we got here.

[Narrator] John's timing is bang-on.

I want to see if we can get some air

to the straight truck.

Basically we're all done.

He's just going to finish

mapping where this truck was.

[Narrator] With the investigation complete...

the Abrams crew,

including manager Peter Colagiovanni,

can get to work.

Cleanup crew here, we're gonna start cleaning up.

Gonna try to get these brakes working

to get this thing mobile.

[air hissing]

[Narrator] The truck's airlines are damaged,

so John needs to find a way

to bypass the damage

and get the air to the brakes.

Hopefully I can find the right lines

to release the brakes.

So...

that's the one coming from the tank,

which goes in there,

this comes out here,

to the red.

[air hissing]

That should be airing up.

Nope.

Nothing?

Nope.

[John] We've tried every line.

Not one of them are releasing the brake.

I don't understand why.

Cage the brakes might be the next option.

[John] Clock's ticking,

we gotta get this thing outta here.

[honking]

It's going to take some time to clear out this backlog.

[Narrator] 400 kilometres east...

[Narrator] ...even though skies are clear,

the 401 is anything but...

[Narrator] ...and heavy congestion

leads one driver...

...to take a hard detour.

806 Westbound, guys.

[Andrew Vink] Hey, keep it tight, boys.

[Narrator] 15 kilometres west

in Cornwall,

the Herb's Towing crew answers the call.

[Bill Fell] Today is going to be a big day.

Rolling out to a tractor-trailer

rolled over with a load of wood.

[Narrator] Senior op Bill Fell leads the way

in the 80-tonne rotator.

[Bill] We're bringing out all the big iron for this one.

It's a big load.

[Andrew] Quite the mess, man.

[Narrator] Company co-owner Andrew Vink

pieces together the unusual crash.

The guy tried to avoid a tractor-trailer

that was completely stopped,

hit the ass end of it,

and, uh, resulted in him doing almost a 270,

and almost landed back on his wheels.

In our industry, rollovers are usually tip-overs.

[driver] Bastard just rear-ended me and flipped it.

[Andrew] To see something of this nature

where somebody almost does a complete 360

with his tractor-trailer

is quite phenomenal.

[Bill] You know, you see wrecks like this,

and you are amazed when you hear

that they walked out of that alive.

Could have been a lot worse.

[Andrew] This thing rolled

practically in the worst possible spot...

[Bill] Oh, look at that!

[Andrew] ...in a swamp

about with three feet of water or so.

[Bill] That water's deep, bro.

[Narrator] But even worse than the location

is the load.

[Bill] Those are full pieces?

[Herb] Yes.

[Bill] I mean, that's not a hand-bomb job.

We got an awkward load that's awful,

we got floor trusses 48 feet long in one piece.

[Bill] Oh, ho, ho!

Well, this should be fun.

These beams are super long,

and it's going to be a really awkward offload.

[Andrew] We can't just pick them up with a fork lift,

do a 180.

The beam is gonna be half way

through the other lane of the 401.

So quite the challenging load to deal with.

[Bill] It's going to be a little delicate

trying to get these bundles off.

[Andrew] We're going to try and keep them in bundles.

I don't know, that's the plan,

but I'm sure... [chuckles]

I'm sure the plan's going to go sideways.

Whoa...

This is, uh, interesting,

to say the very least.

[traffic news radio] The 401

pretty much looking like a parking lot.

Express lanes are completely shut down.

[Narrator] On the 401 at Leslie,

the traffic backlog

has been growing

for an hour...

[grunts]

[Narrator] ...and John Allen

has had to give up on using air

to release the brakes...

[Tim] How are we doing?

[John] The two back ones, the plates were shifted.

[Narrator] ...but manually releasing each set of brakes

is taking even more time.

[honking]

[John] Each one of the drive wheels

has a brake chamber

that we have to put a bolt in,

and manually wind the brake off.

I really hope this releases the brakes.

She's rolling.

Yep, all right.

Let me pull up out of your way a little bit here.

All right, it's rollin' good.

[John] Got this truck all ready to go.

The only thing left here is the cleanup.

Come on, come on, let's go.

We got a couple bags here, I'll start doing that.

[Tim] The highway is getting ready to be reopened

by our road crew.

You're doing a great job, we appreciate it.

[Narrator] Despite the delay,

they finished the job

without any secondary collisions,

and that's not the only reason to celebrate.

[John] We got some good news.

At least the driver, he's okay.

I believe it's just a broken leg.

Other than that, he's gonna live.

No life-altering injuries,

so, you know, that's some good news for today.

[Narrator] Back at the eastern end of the highway...

This is, uh... interesting.

[Narrator] ...a new member is joining the crew,

Andrew's father, Herb Vink himself.

Gotta make sure that nobody loses a finger.

[Andrew] I'll be honest with ya,

you know, Herb's not getting any younger.

He's slowly retiring.

[Narrator] ...but this tough job

is a good chance to see

how the crew is developing under Andrew's leadership.

[Herb] It's 48-foot floor joists,

and you cannot upright it with the load on it.

[Bill] Ay-yi-yi-yi...

[Herb] Although it was strapped in two portions,

the top portion, the tie-downs were broken,

so it was scattered like toothpicks.

[Narrator] With Herb's guidance,

they bundle those loose boards together.

Just like that...

Right there, line in a bit.

[Narrator] They can now use a fork attachment

to lift the bundle...

Winch in, winch in, winch in, Bill, winch in...

[Narrator] ...but at 48 feet long,

they need perfect balance.

[Andrew] Getting centre with this bundle is crucial

to make sure this gets safely back onto the trailer

that we're trying to load it onto.

[Bill] It's always an adventure with Andrew.

Great, pull.

Yup, swing it in.

[Bill] It's not just a pick and drop...

I'll try and be smooth on these controls, my friends.

[Bill] ...you gotta come over as smooth as you can

to prevent it from swinging...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

[Bill] ...and when you're dropping it,

we gotta make sure

that we have enough space for the rest of them.

It's a long process.

[Shawn] You think if we do a camp fire,

it's going to be quicker?

[Bill laughs]

[Narrator] They've moved the scattered boards,

but they'll need a faster process

for the rest of the load...

[Bill] Yeah, we gotta figure this out.

[Narrator] ...and the most experienced crew member on scene

might have an idea.

[Herb] If we were to put the two forklifts underneath...

Yeah?

...and then use the rotator

to slowly bring it up,

there won't be much pressure left there.

[Narrator] Two skid steers

will push up

and hold the remaining load,

while the rotator rolls the trailer

onto its wheels.

[Andrew] We got about 17,000 pounds left of payload

on there.

The two forklifts will keep...

would keep it from falling off the trailer.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It would save a lot of work if we do it.

Go check to see if all the straps are good.

They are, they're all good.

Check they're all tight.

If we can save from offloading this,

we're having a good day.

[Narrator] But the success of Herb's plan

hinges on the beams staying contained

during the lift.

[Herb] Straps are meant to hold down.

They have some side strength,

but it's not meant to hold a load

fully on its side.

Under that kind of condition, they can break.

[Andrew] If this thing breaks free,

we're back to square one,

and we just added multiple hours to the job.

[groans] Ah, my lucky day, man.

[Narrator] Andrew needs to prep the truck for towing

once it's on its wheels.

[Andrew] I feel like Crocodile Dundee in here.

Okay, that's good.

We gotta release the brakes on the truck,

gotta remove the shaft.

Bill?

[Bill] Yeah?

[Andrew] Can you work with me for the shaft here

at the back between both drives?

Make sure you don't drop that,

because if you drop it,

you don't see it anymore.

[Narrator] Now they can rig for the pull...

Rim sling,

two frame chains.

[Narrator] ...banking

that they can keep the load intact.

You through? Okay.

[Andrew] You got a mix of loaders,

a mix of heavy tow trucks involved.

We're definitely in uncharted territories here.

[Herb] It's a bit of a gamble.

I've tried it, but probably 20 years ago...

[Narrator] ...and today,

it won't be Herb on the controls...

[Herb] Just gotta be careful.

Bill has developed in the last four or five years

to be a very key figure in our towing operation,

but there is always a risk factor.

[Herb] We have to see if we've got enough boom.

Yeah.

[Bill] I think I've come a long way.

I've worked hard for it.

I still got a lot to learn, obviously.

Maybe that'll work, I don't know.

[Narrator] The manoeuvre

is well outside of Bill's comfort zone.

[Bill] Usually you're pulling it towards you.

This time we're kind of pushing it away

to upright it.

[Andrew] We're working pretty much at max reach here.

Okay, you good to go, Herb?

Okay.

[Andrew] The loaders can lift 10,000 pounds.

We're not even sure that we're going to have enough power

to get this thing upright.

Hopefully everything goes good.

Hopefully the load stays on the trailer.

You guys better do your job and get 'er upright, okay?

[Shawn] You guys ready?

[Andrew] Give 'er a try.

[Shawn] Andrew, you're watching on your side?

Yeah.

[Narrator] Bill needs to ensure

he times his lift with the two loaders,

or he risks losing the cargo.

[Andrew] Lifting, Bill, keep on pulling.

[Andrew] I don't know

how this thing is going to roll over.

I'm not sure if the straps are going to let go,

if the bundles are going to go flying...

[Herb] Pull more on your grey, Bill.

[Bill] It's a little unorthodox.

It's just on the borderline of crazy.

[Andrew] Keep on winching, Billy.

[Bill] Are we going to run out of line here?

[Andrew] Keep on pushing it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Shawn] I'm maxed out.

It doesn't even go up, at all.

Nothing.

[Narrator] On the 401

east of Cornwall...

[Shawn] I'm maxed out.

Like, it doesn't even go up, at all.

Nothing.

[Narrator] ...Herb's unconventional plan...

[Andrew] Man, we're not doing much.

[Narrator] ...is hitting overwhelming resistance.

[Andrew] We're pushing the 80 to its max.

It's just on the borderline of crazy.

I'm sweatin'.

[Andrew] We're not even sure that we have enough line

and enough power to get this thing upright.

Your mains are good right there, Billy,

so if you keep on booming up...

[Narrator] Working to roll the truck

away from the rotator

is forcing Bill to work his controls

in reverse.

[Andrew] Go in on your grey...

[Bill] Most wrecks we do,

we are uprighting it towards us.

So it's different.

[Herb] You can't boom up until you slacken them up.

We need to be exact on this.

[Andrew] Whoa.

Keep on doing that slowly.

[Narrator] It's up to Andrew

to guide him through.

-Billy? -Yeah.

You can actually slack off slightly on the mains,

and boom up slowly.

A reverse roll can be really tricky.

[Andrew] So, boom up now.

[Bill] It puts a lot of stress on the truck,

and the operator,

because you're wondering...

"Hmm... is this going to work?"

Keep on booming up.

[creaking slowly]

Whoa, yeah!

I felt it start to go,

so I got on the mains to release them just in time.

[Andrew] Yeah, you've saved the day, Bill.

It splashed down...

we're on our way home soon.

I was able to put the lines out just in time, man.

[Shawn] It wouldn't have flipped over

if it wouldn't have been for you, buddy.

Thanks!

It was a little nerve-racking,

but it worked.

[Andrew] He pulled it off.

I couldn't have done it better myself.

[Herb] Saved a lot of time.

[Narrator] Now they just need to ease the truck and trailer

back to solid ground.

[Andrew] Rotate towards the front.

Make sure your rotation, Bill, is dead on with it.

Oh, yeah.

[Bill] There we go.

Beautiful.

[Bill] I think today

was one of my strongest days as an operator.

I think I did really well.

[Narrator] It was a challenge

that brought Herb's past

and future together.

[Andrew] Every piece of equipment

and every operator

played a tremendously big role

to get this thing off and get this thing upright,

so it was nice to see old methods

and new methods mix up

to get a successful recovery in the books.

I'm proud of the team effort,

and the camaraderie,

and the calm, cool, and collected.

[Herb] Herb's Towing's future, it's very solid.

That was a good job, boys.

Andrew has a very good team behind him.

It's dinner time!

[honks twice]

[Narrator] 700 kilometres west...

[Narrator] ...the other end of the province

is still locked in the grip of winter,

and a blast of snow

is hammering Highway 402

hard.

We had a system blow through earlier in the day.

It left a lot of snow on the ground.

[Narrator] Just before midnight,

Collin Vandenheuvel

is heading 50 kilometres east from Sarnia

to a scene in Warwick.

I'm heading out in the rotator.

My dad's following in the 50-tonne.

We want to make sure we got enough iron

for this fight.

[Gary] Looks like

we got our hands full out here tonight.

[Narrator] Even Collin's father, Gary,

has never tackled a job like this.

All right, let's go see what we got.

It's a big one.

That's some serious carnage there.

Yup.

[Collin] We've got a trailer on its side

loaded with cars.

We've got the truck separated from it,

and it's further down in the ditch,

and then we've got another truck up the road.

Holy...

[Gary] We got a lot of trucks here.

[Collin] Wow.

[Gary] It'll be an interesting night.

Never had this many vehicles on its side in one location.

This is the unicorn.

[Narrator] The fully loaded car-carrier

swerved to avoid a jackknifed semi,

losing control

and barrelling right into the median.

[Gary] I've never had a car-hauler on its side.

This is something new to me.

A unique recovery for us.

The trailer's going to be the big job on this one.

[Collin] I've been to a few multi-vehicle pile-ups,

but this one takes it a whole step above that.

Well, Collin, I'm just going to go down the road.

I'm going to check out that other one.

Okay.

[Narrator] 200 metres back...

She's empty.

[Narrator] ...the second truck

poses some problems of its own.

This one's knocked around pretty hard,

uh, knocked the cab right off the truck,

by the looks of it.

It's jackknifed all the way around.

[Gary] It's one of those nights.

We've got two recoveries

within a close distance of each other.

We're going to split up.

I'll deal with that one,

if you want to deal with unstrapping these cars,

and then, uh, just...

I guess you're going to use the rotator

whatever plan you come up with.

-Sounds good. -Okay.

[Gary] I think the best avenue's

that Collin's going to take the lead on this.

[Collin] I gotta get 'er outta here.

[Narrator] Tasking Collin

with the unprecedented challenge

is a huge vote of confidence from Gary...

[Collin] Holy crap.

[Narrator] ...and it's a huge responsibility

for his son.

[Gary] This car-hauler,

it's not something I've ever done before.

I have total trust in him,

and he'll get the job done.

This is a big scene for one recovery.

It's gonna be a pain.

[Narrator] 50 kilometres east of Sarnia,

a double recovery scene

has shut down the westbound 402...

It's gonna be a pain.

[Narrator] ...and Collin Vandenheuvel

is facing a job

that even his father has never attempted.

[Gary] This car-hauler,

it's not something I've ever done before.

I have total trust in him,

and he'll get the job done.

Well, let's get that truck up onto the road.

I'm going to have to go back to my light-duty towing roots

to help with all these cars on their side.

She is slick.

[Narrator] That light-duty history

isn't very far back in Collin's past.

[Collin] It is just a soupy mess.

[Narrator] Just a few years ago,

he was fighting to master one-tonne winch-outs...

That's going to be a challenge.

[Narrator] ...and to prove himself.

Let's start getting prepared.

[Collin] A couple years ago,

I would have looked a job like this,

and I wouldn't have had any clue.

Now it's still scary,

but I'm getting to be able to do it by myself.

I'm going to grab him first.

[Narrator] Tonight...

for the biggest test of his career,

Collin will start with the tractor,

itself loaded down with two SUVs.

[Collin] We're going to leave these vehicles on

just because to lift these vehicles off,

we'd do more damage.

They're actually undamaged as they sit.

[Narrator] But the decision comes with a price,

over 10,000 extra pounds of resistance.

[Collin] 5,000-pound Jeep,

and a 6,000-pound SUV up there,

so we're at almost 40,000 pounds right there.

These are solid right here.

These are a very good point to pull on.

[Brian] Oh, absolutely.

[Narrator] Collin's only help is Brian,

who usually works in the light-duty division.

Boom.

Locked and loaded, and ready to pull.

[Collin] We're both going to go down into the ditch.

I just want to watch the back end,

make sure it's not dragging.

I want you to watch the front end,

make sure it's not dragging.

Okay?

[Collin] The truck itself,

they're very low,

so bringing it back up and out of the ditch

is going to be very challenging

without damaging the underside of that truck,

and on top of that,

we've got a lot of weight up high,

so I don't want this thing starting to teeter

and roll over.

Watch out, I'm going to pull forward, okay?

She's tippy.

That's the part I don't like about this.

So I'm just trying to keep the lines

as even as I can on this

because of how tippy it is.

We've got a lot of weight up high on this,

so if I pull too hard on one of my lines,

it can actually flip this unit right now.

-[Brian] Hey, Collin? -Yeah?

[Brian] We're getting close to that front bumper.

[Collin] It's so low

that I can't see underneath,

and see what I'm actually dragging on.

[creaking]

[Brian] What's rubbing, Collin?

[creaking]

[Collin] Everything.

I'm just worried about these fuel tanks

rubbing against the ground.

I don't want to blow the tanks.

[Collin] I'm hearing some noises

I really don't like right now,

so we're just going to stop.

Brian, can you set the brakes for me?

[air hissing]

[Gary] Looks like that tractor

might be fighting him a little bit.

I know it's really low on the front end there.

He may be struggling with that,

and it's really heavy,

so, uh, he's got his hands full with it.

[Narrator] But tackling a jackknife solo,

Gary's hands are far from empty.

[Gary] Pretty close.

I can live with that.

I'm hoping I can just actually pull it around.

This has to work.

I don't have any other options,

so I'll get my feet down,

and let's see what it does.

Whoo, hydraulics are cold tonight,

everything is slow.

Okay, I'm going to start pulling.

[creaking and cracking]

Lots of banging and crunching going around there,

but that's just the truck coming off.

Hopefully it doesn't fight me too much.

[Narrator] Over on Collin's scene...

[Collin] We're going to have to get some blocks,

and we're going to have to lift that front end up.

[Narrator] ...to get the loaded tractor

ready for the pull,

Collin enlists the driver to help.

[Collin] Can we bring that back car down

just to keep that centre of gravity

a little bit lower?

That'd be awesome.

Just because this is where

it's going to get really tippy on us,

is getting it up outta here with a high centre.

[Collin] I'm hoping

that's going to give me enough lift

to balance it out a little bit

to crest the ditch a little bit easier.

Let's just see what it does here for a second.

No room underneath this thing.

I'm just trying to take it nice and gentle

so I don't rip anything off this,

but I gotta get 'er outta here,

so we're just gonna kind of

keep stepping it up with wood here,

and we'll go from there.

[creaking]

Just listening for every single sound

at this point.

Slow and steady wins the race.

There we go.

That's a lot better.

Well, that was quite the nerve-racking feeling,

but we got it up,

we didn't tear anything off the thing.

She's on the road, and she's ready to go.

[Gary] Looks like he's got it out.

That's great news.

Always a proud moment as a dad

handling a job like this on his own.

[Collin] I'm glad we've got this truck up on the road

without doing any extra damage to it.

Now we've got to focus on the car carrier itself

sitting on its side.

[Narrator] With the warmup behind him,

it's time for Collin's main event,

and the push to open the road

is getting even harder.

[Gary] The pressure's on

when the snow plows are backing up,

so I better get this thing out of the way.

Time crunch on this one.

We're going to have the morning rush coming in.

[Gary] It's pretty critical

that we get at least a partial lane open

so that these plows can continue down the road.

I want to get this cleaned up,

get this roadway opened up.

[Collin] We're gonna have to cut the straps, obviously.

[Narrator] In the middle of the 402,

Collin is getting ready

to start the most complex part

of the most complex recovery of his career...

I need you guys to get me some endless loops.

[Narrator] ...but he can't upright the trailer

with all the cargo on board.

[Collin] We're gonna remove

the two vehicles on the top of this trailer

with the rotator

to help lighten the load as we're rolling it over,

but also to prevent any further damage

to these trucks.

Gonna to have to slide this way anyways

to get it where it needs to be.

[Narrator] He'll have to ease the vehicles

off the trailer,

then thread them around the rotator,

and onto the pavement,

without doing any damage on the way.

[Collin] Everyone clear?

-Clear. -Okay.

[Collin] I'm trying to feather the trucks

away from the trailer.

I don't want them to swing and hit the trailer,

possibly do more damage to the trucks.

[Brian] I think it's gonna wanna turn just like that.

[Collin] That's what I want.

Hopefully it doesn't kick on us.

Not going to like it a whole lot.

Watch yourselves, guys.

That's between 4,000 and 6,000 pounds.

Oh, don't do that.

[Collin] The truck's swinging

a lot more than I was expecting it to.

It's coming right at the rotator.

We don't want to damage the truck.

Okay.

Hey, Bri, get me taglines?

[Collin] So we're just putting a catch line on there,

so that when we start to lift this thing,

it doesn't swing too much.

[Brian] Hey, you're fishin', you caught a big one!

[Narrator] The plan is working,

but it's eating up time.

[Collin] I'll grab the second one.

We'll do the exact same thing.

[Gary] All right, cooperate, trailer.

[Narrator] 200 metres down the road,

Gary is in the home stretch.

[Gary] Just come around,

and let's make this happen.

[Narrator] He just needs to slide

the back end of the semi sideways

to make room for the waiting plows.

[Gary] Like swinging a gate

and opening the highway.

Looks like they're coming.

[Narrator] A few minutes later...

[Gary] How ya doin', bud?

[Narrator] ...Gary's joined his son,

but he's still letting Collin make the big calls.

What are you thinking for the upright on this one?

I'm thinking a low spike on this

just because the cage on the top

is not very structural, right?

So I don't want to damage that.

Just park the rotator back here,

and just bring 'er right over, spike 'er right down.

Yup.

I think that's going to be our best bet.

[Narrator] Collin wants to use two lines

to pull down on the trailer...

a strap to roll it upward...

and a fourth line for a soft landing.

[Collin] Round two!

[Gary] It's actually really neat

to see Collin lead this recovery,

and it's something I've never even done.

[Collin] I definitely feel a lot of pressure.

There's a lot going on with this recovery.

Hopefully this is gonna be the last lift for the night.

Get this thing up and over.

It's gonna go over? Is that what you want?

Yeah, let's go over.

It's been a long night,

temperature's starting to drop,

a little snow coming in.

[Collin] We're all getting pretty tired.

We've been going all day,

and now all night.

You know, we're really running on adrenaline right now.

Just running a couple lines here,

a catch line,

a couple lower lines.

Hopefully it comes down nice and smooth.

I think what you're going to have a hard time

is catching.

[Gary] It's a pretty tight space

that we're dealing with.

I'm going with that.

[Gary] If we miss this,

we could actually hit the wrecker itself,

so I marked it with a water bottle.

Hopefully we can hit the mark right on

and land this thing where we want it.

[Collin] It's going to be a technical rollover,

but we'll see what she wants to do.

I wanna land it nice and soft, so...

go from there.

Fingers crossed.

[Narrator] On the westbound 402,

the Preferred crew is about to mark a first

in company history...

[Collin] I gotta lead with that side anyways.

That's the only spot I'm gonna get any traction.

[Gary] Okay.

I'm good with that.

[Narrator] ...and Gary is trusting his son

to lead the charge.

[Collin] This is the first time I've done a car carrier.

Everything is snugged.

[Collin] It's a scary feeling

to try something that you've never done.

Oh, I hate car carriers.

All right.

[Gary] When you're catching a trailer like this,

that is a really tough manoeuvre.

I'll stand here,

you can watch that back corner.

[Gary] You have a point of no return.

When it starts to fall,

you have to be there with the catch.

If you're not, it's gonna come down hard.

[Collin] Everyone clear? I'm gonna pull.

[Collin] When you've got four lines running,

you've gotta make sure that every single one

is doing the part that you need it to,

and that one's not getting too carried away.

So it's like playing a piano,

you've gotta make sure

that all your fingers are in sync,

or it's going to come down,

and it's going to shock-load the truck.

Nice and gentle.

Get your catch there,

'cause it's coming quick, eh?

[Collin] Yeah.

[creaking]

Here she comes.

You got the catch on it, Coll?

-Yeah. -Okay.

[Narrator] He needs to set it down gently,

and precisely in the tight space available.

[Collin] The catch is tight.

[Gary] Okay, let off on the catch slowly,

see if that gives you anything.

There you go.

[Collin] I got 'er.

Just work between the catch and the roll,

and you got it. There it is.

Nice.

Two inches off on my water bottle.

[Collin] That was pretty good.

Nice roll,

came down, he caught it,

soft landing,

just the way we like to see them.

I like the soft landings.

[Gary] This was a super smooth catch

on this particular one,

and really tough,

being something that I haven't even done before,

so... pretty proud of him.

Now we gotta just

get everything de-rigged off this thing,

and get it outta here.

[Narrator] It's a long way

from pulling cars out of the mud,

but still just the beginning

of Collin's journey.

That's why we do it.

[Gary] It's nice to see

that he's building on what he knows.

He's becoming a real skilled operator.

Oh, yeah, I like it.

It's a pretty rewarding feeling, for sure.

You led, you did a good job.

Thanks.

All right, let's bring 'em home.

Sounds good.

[Collin] This is definitely a job for the books.

I've never seen something like this before,

and it was a pretty interesting,

involving recovery.

The team did really well on it,

and now we get to go home and have some rest.

[Gary] Well, I'm definitely calling that one a win.

[Collin] Time to go home.

[honks twice]

[Narrator] Next time on Heavy Rescue: 401...

[OPP officer] That's a different one.

[Narrator] ...hot pursuit...

Apparently they were actually calling 911 just now.

[Narrator] ...takes a turn.

Gotta look into this a little bit further.

[Mitch] It's stinky.

[Narrator] Mitch...

[coughing] This stuff can't be good for us.

[Narrator] ...faces a pile of problems...

[Mitch] Makes me wanna go back to school

and work at a desk.

[Narrator] ...and father and son...

[Gary] It's gonna break any second.

[Narrator] ...get blown away.

[Collin] Holy crap, this is insane.

[♪♪♪]