Advertisement Tow truck driver kicked in groin Alleged kicker faces battery charges Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A man is facing battery charges after he allegedly kicked a tow truck driver in the groin while he was hooking up his car Sunday evening.Joseph Fodera, 67, of Broward County became upset and started yelling at a Tri-County Automotive Towing driver as his car was being towed from a vacant lot on Melody Lane, according to the arrest affidavit. There was a music event going on a block away on the waterfront, and several people had been towed from the same lot.The tow truck driver told police Fodera at first grabbed his arm. After pulling away and telling Fodera not to touch him, the tow truck driver said Fodera approached him again and kicked him in the groin area. According to police, Fodera admitted he had lost his cool and kicked the victim.The tow truck company’s owner said this is the first time one of his drivers has actually been attacked.“Nobody likes to get towed,” Tri-County owner Anthony DiFrancesco said. “We get threats, people yelling, but rarely does it ever come to violence.”Ft. Pierce city commissioners tell WPBF 25 News they’ve received several complaints from car-owners who have been towed from the Melody Lane lot, but that the private property owner is within his rights to tow people parked illegally on his lot.Gary Mercier, who was also towed Sunday, said concert-goers who were trying to return to their cars parked in the lot were held back by police as tow trucks hauled away all of their vehicles. Mercier said he was not allowed to get needed heart medication from his car before it was towed away.Parking can be very scarce in downtown Ft. Pierce and people have been parking in the Melody lane lot for years. It wasn’t until recently the property owner contracted Tri-County to put up no parking signs and tow away vehicles. Commissioners tell WPBF 25 News the downtown parking situation has reached a boiling point, and it’s a matter that’s actively being discussed right now. Meanwhile, the city installed barricades Tuesday at the lot’s entrances to prevent cars from parking.“We’re there to help property owners,” DiFrancesco said. “If there’s a Tri-County tow away sign there, don’t park there because I assure you, you will be towed. Not because we want to but because that’s our job.”