A DRIVER has been slapped with dozens of tickets costing over $10,000 for a car she doesn’t even own.
Louisa Yeboah proved to a judge that she wasn’t responsible for the steep traffic violations, then she got hit with more charges.
The BMW was being used for criminal activity, and Yeboah was being stuck with the bill[/caption]
Yeboah, a nurse living in New York City, explained that she sold her BMW in December 2022 and turned over her old plates to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
She transferred her information over to a new car and cancelled her old ride’s registration, she told WABC in June.
But soon after getting rid of the Beemer, she started to get dozens of tickets for every traffic violation imaginable.
The nurse learned a criminal driver was running red lights, speeding in school zones, and parking illegally, while she was being stuck with the bills.
Desperate for answers, Yeboah first went to the Department of Finance, where a judge said the court would dismiss the tickets.
However, over the next few months, a new stack of tickets was built up, this time amounting to “over $10,000,” she told the local outlet.
It turned out that her vehicle was abandoned and had become a ghost car.
These are vehicles that have forged or altered license plates to hide who truly owns and uses the car.
However, Yeboah had no clue whether officials knew the truth behind the charges, as she continued to get tickets in the mail.
It wasn’t until local media started reaching out to officials that she learned the fate of the wayward BMW.
Yeboah’s old car was involved in a crime ring, hence the flagrant and frequent disregard for traffic laws by whoever was actually driving it, the New York Police Department eventually told her.
The NYPD also confirmed that her vehicle had since been impounded and destroyed.
Yeboah’s summonses were cleared by the Department of Finance, and all of the tickets were removed.
The driver proved that she no longer owned the vehicle, but still got stuck with tickets[/caption]
Cops learned that the BMW was a ghost car[/caption]
GHOST CAR CONUNDRUM
Especially in the New York metropolitan area, ghost cars continue to clog the roads and disregard all rules.
Yeboah’s former ride is just one of 73,000 seized since the start of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration in 2022, as of December 2024.
Ghost cars can range from vehicles with plates that are slightly or fully covered to avoid tickets to plates and registrations that are outright forged.
The vehicles are almost untraceable, since VIN plates are impossible to discern in poor-quality traffic camera images.
While ghost cars are dodging prosecution, drivers hit-and-run by them can also be left hanging since it’s impossible to file an insurance claim.
How to fight a parking ticket
You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets are preventable by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes are made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket is a surprise to you, there are a few things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Carefully read the ticket. Look for errors like incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would then make the ticket invalid.
- Take photos. Of the vehicle in the parking space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that weren’t cited for performing the same parking job. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with the time and date are accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or are on bent posts, or aren’t “obvious” are great things to photograph, too.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Promptly follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have directions for appeal. Waiting until the very last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument: I didn’t know the law; I was on my way to move my car; I can’t afford this ticket; I’ve been doing this for years; or I checked with the parking officer, who said it was OK.
- Contact a lawyer. If you’re running into roadblocks and feel stuck, it may be best to reach out to a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader’s Digest
TICKED-OFF TICKETEES
Yeboah isn’t the only driver who has been incorrectly ticketed for someone else’s car.
One driver was sent eight parking violations amounting to nearly $1,000 with violation dates from spring 2024 onward.
Resident Hector Colon was being sent tickets for a truck he sold months before the violation dates.
He also successfully transferred the title in the aftermath, a fact which New York’s DMV confirmed.
Meanwhile, driver Sobhuza Williams was slapped with a gargantuan $38,500 bill thanks to parking fines for a car he sold months prior.
