EXTREME flooding couldn’t stop a woman from getting a parking ticket — even when her car had floated away.
A driver on TikTok claimed that after her vehicle had floated away, she was ticketed for where her car had ended up.
The TikTok user showed her car submerged up to her tires when she noticed the tickets[/caption]
She previously had posted that she just moved to South Carolina and was not expecting the flooding[/caption]
Dangerous flooding in South Carolina left the new resident with multiple parking tickets, she says, despite knee-deep water surrounding her car.
Video footage shows her grey Honda halfway submerged with what appears to be numerous parking citations clipped into its windshield wiper.
“To the individual who gave me parking tickets: my car floated here,” a user named Anna Brooks (@anna.brooks4) said as it still poured rain in the background.
“I did not park on this street.”
The clip, posted on August 23, had garnered over 1.3 million likes with over 8 million views as many joked about the lengths parking enforcement officers will go to issue a ticket.
“So you’re telling me that some cop is going around on a row boat during a storm giving out parking tickets,” one commenter wrote.
“[T]he ticket is the least of your problems,” another joked.
“I can’t control where it washes ashore,” she wrote in the video’s caption.
“Who is out here giving parking tickets in knee deep mystery water,” one user said.
“Charleston will ticket you in the middle of a hurricane,” one commented.
In a separate TikTok, she said that she had just moved to Charleston to start medical school last week, and was not used to the extreme flooding.
“Never lived in Charleston before. Didn’t know I couldn’t park on this street, so, things are going well,” she said as she showed her car flooded almost above its tires.
On August 22 and 23, the town received record-breaking rainfall and dangerous flooding.
Over 4 inches had fallen in downtown Charleston on August 22, breaking the previous 2008 record of 2.6 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
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
The next day, 3.95 inches of rain fell, bypassing the old record of 1.74 inches set in 1960.
Charleston suffers severe flooding issues due to its location next to the ocean and being only a few feet above sea level.
After the ordeal, Brooks uploaded another video updating her followers on her car, and, of course, whether she was able to get the tickets dismissed.
“I went to appeals court this morning,” she said.
“Tickets have officially been appealed. But she has been impounded,” Brooks said, referring to the car.
The car was not picked up in time by insurance, according to Brooks, which caused the now-totaled vehicle to be “locked up.”
She later updated her followers, saying that her car had been totaled[/caption]
She said that she appealed the tickets[/caption]
