KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — While most people are asleep, others are traveling across East Tennessee. Sometimes, they run into trouble. One local tow truck operator is committed to being there when they do.

Tyler Blankenship, owner of Hanover Wrecker Service in Kodak, has spent his life in the towing industry.

“I was born in it, born for it, and I live for it every day now,” Blankenship shared.

Blankenship’s father founded the towing company in West Virginia in 1987. In 2021, Blankenship expanded the business into Tennessee.

“A normal day in towing will start out with you thinking that you've gotta go one place and the phone will ring and you have to go somewhere completely different,” Blankenship explained about the job.

Even after working a 12-hour shift from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Blankenship'

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