The coffin of Daniell F. Steinberg is loaded onto his tow truck outside St. Kevin Church, in Warwick, yesterday.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

WARWICK — They’re the emergency responders rarely thanked or talked about.

Yesterday morning, more than 100 tow trucks filled the Walter Quinn Funeral Home parking lot for a fallen member of their brotherhood — Daniell F. Steinberg, a 32-year-old Warwick father of three daughters — and dozens of trucks led the procession to the church and cemetery.

Their massive attendance was similar to what firefighters and police officers do when one of their own dies, said Lou Fortes, of State Towing in Providence. They came from Bristol, West Warwick and Burrillville, as well as a few from Cape Cod and Connecticut.

Most didn’t know Steinberg, but during the last few days the Rhode Island Public Towing Association informed the companies about the funeral. Steinberg died Monday afternoon while assisting a motorist stopped on the shoulder of Route 4 north, near Exit 6 and Route 2. Steinberg was hit at 2:25 p.m. by a 36-ton lumber truck when he ran onto the highway to pick up a tire.

“[Getting hit] is always in the back of your mind, you know,” said Fortes. “When you’re out on the highway, you have to be careful.”

Peter Fico, also of State Towing, said, “Not everyone can do this job. You got to have it in your blood. You can’t get out of it either. It’s going on 20 years for me. I started when I was 14 years old. My first tow was a Dumpster.”

Steinberg began working at Herb’s Towing Service Center in Warwick 5 ½ years ago as a second job to make ends meet, friends said yesterday. He was also an auto body technician and shop foreman for National Auto Specialty, in Warwick, for 10 years.

“All he cared about was taking care of his kids,” said high school friend Tim Gelinas, of Warwick. “He was a family man through and through. He loved every minute of it. His life shouldn’t have ended this way.”

The tow-truck operators and the association plan to hold a fundraiser for Steinberg’s children. They hope to have 500 trucks attend the event.

Seventy-four flatbed, wheel-lift and hook-and-chain trucks led yesterday’s procession to St. Kevin Church and the cemetery, Pawtuxet Memorial Park, both off Warwick Avenue.

Steinberg’s tangerine, number 20 flatbed trailer carried the casket and a host of flower wreaths and bouquets. Gelinas said it is how Steinberg wanted it, his coffin “strapped” to his flatbed.

Steinberg’s family didn’t speak at the Mass or burial nor did the close-knit Herb’s Towing crew. They also declined to speak to the media. They held on to each other and wept.

A nearby friend muttered, “He’s just too young, too young.”

The Rev. David Green, of St. Kevin Church, told those gathered to find comfort in each other. He also reminded them that Jesus told his disciples to “not let your hearts be troubled” and “have faith in God.”

“Having faith is the most urgent necessity in the face of death,” he said.

Steinberg’s pastor, Chuck Rogers, of Hope Alive Family Worship Center, said Steinberg was a believer. Although he had only known him a month and a half, Rogers said Steinberg had a “twinkle in his eye” and a “smile on his face” every time he walked into church.

“The last time I saw him, he had a toothy grin and was singing along [to a gospel song] with his hands high,” the pastor said. “Religion was something he wanted to do, rather than something he had to do. Let this be a comfort to you. He sees and knows and enjoys the place that God has prepared for him.”

Friends said Steinberg often smiled. They also said he always helped others. Tony Ricci, of Warwick, said he probably went to get the tire because he was worried it would cause an accident. “It’s a total, total tragedy,” Ricci said.

They became friends because of a common interest: Trans Am cars. Steinberg had a 1979 Trans Am and Ricci a 1980. Steinberg worked on Ricci’s car. “He was a great kid.”

Ricci said the section of Route 4 where Steinberg was killed is a dangerous curve. He said people race around the stretch. A memorial advertisement sent to The Journal by Herb’s Towing asks motorists to “travel safe, especially when you approach any rescue and or recovery vehicle.”

“These folks risk their lives every day on our highways to help those broken down and in need of help.” The tow-truck operators say “well over 50” tow truck drivers die helping motorists each year in the United States. They all said it is a dangerous, but necessary, job. The last accident in this area that they remembered was February 2004.

Two tow-truck drivers were struck and killed by a Raynham, Mass., man’s car in the breakdown lane of Route 495 in Massachusetts at dawn. According to a Boston Globe article, Timothy Kelly, 23, of Bridgewater, Mass., had pulled his disabled tow truck off to the side of the interstate in Norton. A second flatbed truck driven by Jarrod Drew, 24, of Brockton, Mass., was sent to help Kelly. Both men were outside their trucks when they were hit.

“It just makes you think,” said Vinny La Scola, an 11-year veteran of a Burrillville tow company. “Never take anything for granted. When someone says, ‘Go ahead,’ look twice anyways.”