Jerry Wolfe, a Pasco, Florida, homeowner, looked out at his backyard last week and found a tow truck with one wheel buried deep in the soft ground. That soggy turf wasn’t just lawn, either. It was his brand-new septic system.

The tow truck driver, working for Pinellas Towing & Transport, had been searching for a stuck Amazon delivery van

He claimed his GPS led him well past the boundaries of Wolfe’s property, about 60 paces beyond the shed, and directly onto the leach field.

These fields are a vital part of the septic system, designed to slowly filter wastewater. 

Unfortunately, it’s not designed to support several tons of truck.

Wolfe, who spent $3,700 on the recent septic installation, said he was stunned. The tow truck driver told him the company manager would follow up the following Monday. But after several days and no returned calls, Wolfe reached out to local consumer advocate Shannon Behnken from WFLA’s 8 On Your Side.

Once Behnken got involved, things moved quickly. The towing company’s manager called back within hours and acknowledged that the situation had “slipped through the cracks.” He promised to make it right. And sure enough, by Thursday evening, Wolfe had a hand-delivered check for the full repair amount.

The manager described the incident as an honest mistake

The GPS glitch may have contributed, but the real damage came from not recognizing the signs of private property. Or the literal signs, like a backyard shed and freshly laid soil.

As for the original Amazon van, Wolfe said it was about a quarter-mile down the road. So, nowhere near the path the tow truck driver took.

When GPS leads you into someone’s yard, though, maybe get out of your two truck and knock before you sink $70,000 worth of steel into a $3,700 septic system.