GRESHAM, OREGON — A Portland-area man has filed a nearly $1 million lawsuit against Elite Towing and one of its drivers after the driver allegedly ran over his leg and foot during a heated dispute over whether the company was legally required to release his vehicle — and according to state law, it was.
Clenton Jenkins III was visiting a friend at the Highland View Apartments in Gresham on May 1, 2024, when he spotted a tow truck driver in the process of hooking up his car. Jenkins asked the driver, Danny Closser, to stop. During the exchange, Closser attempted to drive off, knocking Jenkins to the ground and running over his foot and leg with the rear tires of the truck. Closser initially told Jenkins he was not running over him. Jenkins yelled for Closser to back up. Closser eventually did, then called his supervisor, detached Jenkins’ car, and drove away without charging anything. He handed Jenkins a generic business card before leaving.
Closser was not charged with any criminal wrongdoing. The lawsuit does not allege the injury was intentional.
The Law Was on Jenkins’ Side
A 2011 Gresham city code — later incorporated into Oregon state law in 2018 — states that if a tow truck driver has not finished hooking up a vehicle when the owner arrives, the driver must release the vehicle for free. If the vehicle is already fully hooked up but the driver has not yet left, the driver must release it for a fee. The police report noted the incident never had to happen, referencing that law directly.
The Injuries and Financial Impact
Jenkins’ attorney, Travis Mayor, said Jenkins was familiar with the towing industry, having previously worked in an administrative role for a tow company — though not as a driver. At the time of the incident, Jenkins was working as a mover and as a contractor at the Bonneville Power Administration. He had to stop working because of his injuries and has not fully recovered.
A medical report indicates Jenkins’ heavily swollen foot and lower leg may have suffered bone marrow edema — commonly known as bone bruising. An MRI taken more than two months after the incident also showed possible bone fractures in his foot. His medical bills total more than $100,000 and he has lost more than $150,000 in wages due to his inability to work. The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Elite Towing’s History
Elite Towing has faced scrutiny before. In 2025, the Portland city ombudsman found the company was charging an average of approximately $1,900 per tow — about 4.5 times the rate other city-contracted tow companies charged. Elite Towing later voluntarily lowered its rates.
The lawsuit is not the only ongoing litigation against Portland-area tow companies. A $617,000 lawsuit filed in 2025 against a Clackamas County tow truck driver who allegedly beat a man he mistook for a homeless person is headed for trial later this year. In 2024, a Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded nearly $1.2 million after a Retriever Towing manager slugged a customer trying to recover his daughter’s wrongfully towed car from a Salem impound lot.
Elite Towing, Closser, and the company’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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