A long-standing parking conflict between Division of Motor Vehicle customers and a neighboring business came to blows Monday.

South Salt Lake police say a man hit a tow truck driver with a shovel then tried to flee with the tow driver on the hood and part of a boot on a wheel.

Merchants near the DMV office at 2880 S. 380 West have instituted a zero-tolerance towing policy against DMV patrons who park in their lot, said South Salt Lake police spokesman Gary Keller. On Monday, a motorist whose car was towed claimed he asked another motorist to borrow a pen to write a check to the tower, Keller said. The second motorist parked his Miata in the lot so he could deliver the pen to the first motorist. Then the tower allegedly put a cable boot on the Miata to tow it away, Keller said.

A fight ensued, and the tow truck driver received a minor head injury. A police document filed with the jail says the car's owner hit the tow driver with a shovel. The tow driver sat on the car's hood but the owner drove off anyway, sending the tow driver to the ground, police said.

The car's owner also damaged the wire cable boot the tow driver attempted to put on the car.

The 44-year-old driver of the Miata left the scene, but was later arrested, Keller said. Police booked the man into the jail on suspicion of assault and vandalism. The Miata driver, the tower and other witnesses have offered conflicting accounts of the fight, Keller said. Witnesses reported the first motorist also scuffled with the tower, Keller said.