Stockton tow truck driver allegedly staged 22 collisions

Mar. 23—STOCKTON — A Stockton man was arraigned on 54 felony counts of insurance fraud, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving last week after a joint investigation by the California Department of Insurance and San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.

Eliu Canales, 43, was found to have allegedly staged collisions with unsuspecting drivers in order to collect more $35,000 in payouts from insurance companies between 2017 and 2022.

The joint investigation revealed that while working for AAA as a lead tow truck driver who taught defensive driving, Canales orchestrated some 22 collisions, according to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

In order to cause the collisions, Canales would hide in the blind spots of other drivers, and as they attempted to change lanes, he would accelerate and sometimes turn into the other vehicles.

Following the collisions, he would immediately file insurance claims against the other driver's insurance company.

Canales claimed more than $86,000 in damage and was paid out more that $35,000 from the insurance companies. He used audio and video recording devices to document the collisions, many of which were at the same locations. He would then uploaded the recordings on his YouTube channel, entitled Stockton Drivers, to highlight "bad drivers" in the area. Most of the videos have been removed from his YouTube channel, Lara said.

Canales was arrested on March 14 and was arraigned the following day. He appeared in court Wednesday for further arraignment and is scheduled to return to on March 29. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.

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