§ 31-2. Permit required; presumption in prosecution for violation of permit required.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate or cause to be driven any auto wrecker upon any public street in the city for the purpose of towing or hauling wrecked or disabled vehicles, either for hire or as an incident to obtaining the business of storing, wrecking or repairing such wrecked or disabled vehicles, away from a police incident site or the scene of an accident where the wrecked or disabled vehicles have collided with any other vehicle or other object or which have been wrecked or disabled in any manner, without having first obtained an emergency auto wrecker permit from the city, duly issued under this chapter to such person to operate an emergency auto wrecker on the streets of the city.

(b)

In any prosecution for a violation of subsection (a) above, proof that an owner's auto wrecker, for which an emergency auto wrecker's permit has not been issued, was present at the scene of a collision or accident in which a vehicle was wrecked or disabled shall constitute prima facie evidence that such owner was operating or causing to be operated his/her auto wrecker as an unpermitted emergency auto wrecker.

(c)

It shall be an exception to the application of subsection (a) above, for an auto wrecker to tow or haul a vehicle from an accident scene or police incident site without a valid emergency auto wrecker permit if said auto wrecker was summoned by the police department pursuant to subsection 31-17(c).

(Ord. No. 374-1, § 1, 6-24-91; Ord. No. 374-3, § 2, 10-27-03)