Tow truck driver killed on the job by suspected DUI driver on I-5 near South Land Park

A tow truck driver was killed in a suspected DUI crash near South Land Park on Saturday night while on the job, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Jim Young, a spokesman for the South Sacramento CHP unit, said a call came in around 11:40 p.m. regarding the crash.

A 40-year-old driver for a local towing company had been sent out to northbound Interstate 5 near Seamas Avenue, where he pulled his truck over, activated his amber lights and got out to begin hooking up a customer’s vehicle on the shoulder.

The Sacramento man and his truck were hit by a Chrysler Town and Country minivan, according to the customer, who later relayed his statement to CHP officers. His vehicle was behind the tow truck, and he was uninjured.

The tow truck driver was thrown into the roadway and suffered fatal injuries. Sacramento Fire Department personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office identified him Sunday afternoon as Obinna Ugorji.

The driver of the minivan, Larry Godbold of Sacramento, was not injured, according to the CHP. When officers arrived, he refused to give a statement regarding the crash.

Officers suspected Godbold, 46, had been drinking and arrested him on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol and gross vehicular manslaughter and he was later booked into Sacramento County Main Jail.

Young described the fatal crash as “a sad situation.” He also wanted to remind drivers that California’s ‘move over’ law, which states that drivers have to change lanes or slow down for law enforcement and emergency vehicles also applies to tow trucks with amber lights activated.

This story was originally published March 28, 2021 at 2:15 PM.