GALVESTON, Texas – A flag and memorial now sit on the stretch of road where Gary Dubose logged hours and miles in his wrecker truck.
“When you are out here on this job, you don’t think about the bad that could happen until it happens,” Ira Bacon, a fellow wrecker driver in Galveston, said.
Bacon had a lot of respect for Dubose, his co-worker. Dubose had more than 30 years of experience as a wrecker operator.
“He was somebody we looked up to,” Bacon said.
On Saturday night, Bacon drove past the accident that left his mentor dead.
Dubose was helping Department of Public Safety troopers clear a scene near the Gulf Freeway and Teichman Road when investigators say 52-year-old Diana Howler veered off the road and slammed into a DPS patrol, car which struck and killed Dubose.
“I knew right away something happened,” Dubose's partner of 25 years, Margaret Mustachia, said. She said she had a sinking feeling that night while he was at work.
“I felt something in my heart,” Mustachia said.
Around Galveston, others in the tow truck industry are flying their flags at half-staff.
Tony and Debbie Socias said Dubose worked for them on and off for 20 years.
“He was talented, and he was also an outgoing person,” Tony Socias said. “He was part of our family.”
The Sociases said he made his mark in Galveston and his death is stark reminder of just how hazardous work on the roads can be.
According to a DPS sergeant, Howler is still in the hospital and has a warrant for intoxication manslaughter. They also say she had a controlled substance in her possession at the time of the crash.