Regina, Saskatchewan — January 19, 2015 — The owner of a Regina-based towing company is paying tribute to his wife, a cancer survivor, in the form of a 75-tonne hot pink heavy duty tow truck.
CBC reports Graham Warner, head of Warner Industries—a large truck and bus dealership offering towing services—had the recovery unit custom built to honour his wife Dionne, who has overcome eight cancer diagnoses spanning two decades.
Currently undergoing treatment for a recurrence of liver cancer, Dionne christened the truck, deemed “Warrior of the Ribbon,” with a bottle of champagne at an unveiling ceremony on January 16. During the event, the unit demonstrated its capabilities by recovering a tipped-over school bus.
“It’s an amazing gift and it’s not just for me, it’s for everyone out there to show support for cancer awareness as well as to help others in need in trouble who need to be picked up and hauled to safety,” Dionne told Regina’s Leader Post.
Capable of hauling loads weighing close to 16,000 kg and lifting a fully loaded two-trailer truck, the unit was also built with growing business demands in mind, and will lend its services to the province’s local authorities, the RCMP, as well as commercial towing operators.
“It’s the only one in Saskatchewan that has the side pullers,” Warner says. “We can pull over on the shoulder without shutting down the highway.”
Sporting a vibrant custom paint job and tailor-made graphics, the truck cost Warner Industries $500,000 to build. Warner says he plans to register two of the shades used to deck the truck with the coatings company, DuPont.
“Every mile or kilometre it rolls it is sending such a powerful message,” Warner adds.
