Central Coast nurse says she was refused roadside assistance after disclosing contact with COVID-19 patients

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION) A Santa Cruz nurse who has cared for coronavirus patients says a towing company refused her call for help after her tire blew out on Highway 1.

The nurse, Meg King, said she broke down near the Buena Vista exit of Highway 1 in Watsonville last Sunday morning. She called AAA for a tow, but she said that help never arrived.

"I felt like I was discriminated against because I was honest," King said.

King said she was refused roadside assistance because of her job. She's a nurse working on the front lines against COVID-19.

"That’s my job," King said. "That’s what I do. And I think, a tow service—that’s their job. They’re supposed to help on the side of the road."

She said she was on her way to another 12-hour shift at a local hospital when her tire blew out. So she called AAA.

She said they asked some questions about whether she'd recently come in contact with someone who had COVID-19. And she said yes. Then, she said, she was told the tow truck company would not be coming to help.

“I was like, 'what do you mean they’re refusing?'” King said.

On that phone call, AAA indicated that Rossi's Towing was the company in question. And on Rossi's website, it said they're "Santa Cruz's one and only AAA towing service provider."

KION reached out to Rossi's, but they would not comment on the incident.

"I said, 'I understand if your driver is scared. I get that. I am scared. I
am scared every day,'" King said.

In a statement, AAA said, "in this case, we were unable to locate an available vehicle to provide her timely service so we offered to call the CHP or another service option."

But King said it's not necessarily about her. She's concerned about other professionals on the front lines.

“You guys are advertising that you can give service to all of these people," King said. "And people have a false sense of security that they’re going to be taken care of.”