24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing in Springfield, Illinois: Tow Truck Help in the Capital City
Stuck in Springfield? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and check on you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
- Check-ins until help arrives
- Driver card and truck tracking
- Price locked by text
- Photo-protected tow
How it works in Springfield. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Springfield area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Springfield? Find a tow truck near you.
Springfield, Illinois
Towing in Springfield, IL, Around the Parkways
This page is for Springfield, Illinois, the state capital on I-55. If you're stuck in the Ozarks, you want our Springfield, Missouri page instead.
Springfield is laid out on a grid, with parkways around the edges. That's good news when you break down. Most spots are easy to describe. Give us the parkway or the numbered street and the nearest cross street, and a vetted local partner can find you. Your price comes by text before anyone is sent.
Where cars get stuck
Springfield Roads, Ring by Ring
Veterans Parkway and J. David Jones Parkway
These carry the west side's through traffic. Stalled near a busy entrance? Pull as far right as you can and leave the hazards on. If the car rolls, steer it into a lot rather than stopping in a turn lane.
Dirksen Parkway
The east side's parkway. Just past it, Clearlake Avenue merges into I-72 eastbound. Tell us whether you're north or south of Clearlake. A tow set up on the wrong side means a long loop back.
I-55 and I-72
I-55 runs north and south past the city. I-72 runs east and west, sharing the road with US 36 all the way from the Missouri line to Decatur. On either one, stay belted in the car and watch for your driver card by text.
The downtown one-ways
Fifth and Sixth carry most north-south traffic, and Seventh adds more between North Grand and South Grand. Madison runs east, Jefferson runs west. Say which way your street runs. It tells the driver which side of the block you're on.
The south end
Wabash, Stanford and Adlai Stevenson Drive carry cross-town traffic down south. Toronto and Woodside Roads serve the far south corridor. Out past the lake, run low on gas and fuel delivery can bring enough to reach a pump.
Capital city weather
Summer Heat, Spring Storms and Freezing Nights
Springfield sits on the far edge of Tornado Alley. Thunderstorms are common all spring and summer. Tornadoes have hit the city itself, in 1957 and twice on one night in March 2006.
Heat is the bigger day-to-day test. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the capital airport show about 28 days a year at 90 degrees or hotter, and July highs near 87. That's rough on cooling systems and old batteries. A car that sat all afternoon in a hot lot on MacArthur may not start. A jump start is the first thing to try.
Winter here is milder than in northern Illinois, but not soft. The same station averages about 22 inches of snow and about 111 nights at or below freezing a year. January lows sit near 20 degrees.
When the sirens sound
Don't wait out a tornado warning in a stalled car. Get to a sturdy building if you can. Call us after the storm passes. Watch for downed limbs and water over the road, and describe what's around you when you call.
Road conditions: IDOT's Getting Around Illinois map.
Areas We Cover Around Springfield
Call from any Springfield neighborhood, from the villages the city surrounds, or from the towns just outside it.
In the city
- Downtown and the Medical District
- Enos Park and Lincoln Park
- Harvard Park and Vinegar Hill
- Hawthorne Place and Oak Ridge
- Westchester and Victoria Lake
- Springfield Lakeshore and Twin Lakes
- Jerome, Leland Grove, Southern View and Grandview
Around the city
- Chatham and Auburn
- Rochester and Riverton
- Sherman and Williamsville
- Athens
- New Berlin and Pleasant Plains
- Pawnee
You'll know who's coming before they get there: name, photo and truck by text. You can track your truck as it comes down the parkway.
Scott's Law on I-55 and the Parkways
Illinois law treats flashing lights on a stopped vehicle as a warning that something is wrong ahead. Drivers in every lane have to slow down and be ready to stop. On a road with at least two lanes each way, they must also move away from the stopped vehicle when it's safe. The rule covers tow trucks too, since they may run amber lights at a crash or breakdown. Read it in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
Our Stay-With-You Promise covers the wait: check-ins by text until the truck pulls up.
Questions
Springfield, IL Towing Questions
Is this the right page for Springfield, Missouri?
No. This page covers Springfield, Illinois, in Sangamon County. The phone number is the same for both, so just call and tell us which Springfield you're in.
My car died on a one-way street downtown. What should I tell you?
The street, the block and which way traffic runs. On Fifth or Sixth, say the nearest cross street. That tells the driver where to pull in behind you.
Can you tow me to a shop in Chatham or on Dirksen Parkway?
Yes. Give us the shop's name or address on the call. The texted price covers that trip. If you don't have a shop, ask us. Pointing you to one is part of the promise.
I locked my keys in the car near Lake Springfield. Do I need a tow?
No. That's a lockout job. A partner comes to open the car for you, with the price locked by text first.
Roadside help in Springfield, IL
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Springfield
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Springfield drivers. Tell us what happened, and we send a vetted local towing company near you with a truck suited to the job: a tow truck for a car that can't be driven (a flatbed where the vehicle needs one, like many all-wheel-drive cars), or a service truck for a jump start, lockout, flat tire, fuel delivery or winch-out.
Car towing
Cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups. Price locked by text, photos before hookup.
Car towing
Jump starts
Clicks, dim dash lights or nothing at all? A dead battery jump, day or night.
Jump starts
Car lockouts
Keys locked inside, on the seat or in the trunk. A partner works to get you back in without damage.
Car lockouts
Flat tire changes
Got a spare but no safe way to put it on? A partner swaps it for you.
Flat tire changes
Fuel delivery
Ran out of gas? Enough fuel to get you to the nearest station.
Fuel delivery
Winch-outs
Stuck in snow, mud or a shallow ditch near the road? A partner can usually pull you out.
Winch-outsThe Sentinel Stay-With-You Promise
Seven Promises on Every Springfield Call
Read the fine print on the promise page.
We stay with you. From your call until the truck arrives, we check on you by text.
See your driver before they arrive. You get their name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map.
Your family knows too. Give us one number, and we text them your location and arrival time.
Photo-protected tow. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of your vehicle. We text you the photos.
Price locked by text. You get your price by text before we dispatch. That price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes, we text a new price first and you decide.
Never stranded after. Ride along in the truck when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. We also point you to a good repair shop.
Free Sentinel Circle. After your first job, your vehicle is on file. Next time, just text "TOW" for priority dispatch.
How it works
From Your Call to Your Driver
- 01You call
Our 24/7 line answers
Call 1-888-TOW-1213. Tell us where you are, what you drive and what went wrong.
- 02We lock it in
Your price, by text
We text your price before anyone is sent. That's the most you'll pay for the job you described.
- 03A partner accepts
The nearest truck takes it
The nearest available partner tow company accepts your job. They're vetted for insurance and licensing.
- 04You see who's coming
Driver card and tracking
You get your driver's name, photo and truck, plus a link to track your truck. We check in until they arrive.
Nearby cities
Springfield roadside guides
Springfield, IL
Stuck in Springfield? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.