'Didn't see any signs,' fume drivers hit with $325 fee after mass towings by city – one had parked there for 20 years | JA43D35 | 2024-05-05 12:08:01
A DRIVER has asked for reimbursement after his vehicle was towed to clear a pathway for a local parade.
The Savannah, Georgia driver said he might have paid the towing fee, but it was three times more expensive than he could afford.
The city towed a total of 50 cars during this year's St. Patrick's Day parade, according to local Fox affiliate WZTV.
Savannah officials sent warnings to drivers in local media, posted dozens of signs around town, and wrote notices on its website before sending out the tow trucks.
The trucks snatched the cars from the street-side parking after midnight on Saturday, hours before the parade was set to traverse the streets.
However, some drivers said they didn't have signs on their streets.
They also complained the towing fee prices were too high.
"I saw an open space and did not see any signs", Paul Suszinski, a resident who said he parked his car on the street for 20 years, told local ABC affiliate WJCL.
"[I] parked there, and the next morning, I walk out to my car, and it's gone."
Suszinski said he was handed a $325 towing fee after the car was moved 3.1 miles away.
"Reasonable towing I think is $125 to $150," he said.
"No Parking" signs near Suszinski's home warned about street-side parking change during the parade – but the signs didn't warn about the impending towing operation, according to the WJCL.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "It says 'No Parking,' not 'Tow Away Zone,' there was only one sign in the middle of the street, and you couldn't see it," Suszinski said.
Another neighbor claimed some of the temporary signs had fallen to the ground.
However, city officials said drivers should have moved their cars before the tow trucks came in.
Detric Leggett, the Savannah Alderman, told the station the city had offered plenty of warnings.
"There were a lot of papers put up," Leggett told the publication.
<p class="article__content--intro"> You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made </p> </div> </div> City officials told the television station that a 2019 law allowed them to remove the vehicles.
"Because the parade created public safety issues, we can deem the cars abandoned having posted signage to warn drivers," the city said to in a statement.
However, Suszinski, a retired social security recipient, said the fees were insurmountable.
"I'm just looking for a little bit of fairness, that's all," he said.
More >> https://ift.tt/dTOCuqh Source: MAG NEWS
