A MOM was devastated after her vehicle was hauled off with her children in it – she got charged by authorities for the incident.
Police said the mom left her two small children in a car outside of a mall in Arlington, Virginia before it was towed away with her toddlers still inside.
The disheartening event happened in September after Chaukina Thomas came out of a local mall, NBC 4 Washington News reported.
The driver was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
She initially thought someone stole her car with her 1 and 3-year-old children inside.
The mom is the one who called the police.
“Outside the Macy’s entrance … hysterical,” a 911 dispatcher said, according to audio obtained by the news outlet.
“I’m getting a report that the vehicle was taken and her baby is in the car.”
It wasn’t long before officers found out her car wasn’t stolen.
But the woman’s car was actually towed because Thomas parked illegally, according to Arlington police.
“The children were inside car seats,” a spokesperson for the Arlington County Police Department told NBC 4 News.
“And from our preliminary investigation, we have not identified information that the tow truck operator was aware that the children were inside the vehicle at the time of the tow.”
Thomas left the car’s air conditioning running when she went into the mall, police said.
The children were in good health when they reunited with their mother at the Advanced Towing lot, according to NBC 4 News.
Advanced Towing said that the children were in the back seat and they weren’t visible at the time of the tow.
The towing company said the car was parked in a fire lane for a period of time.
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
There have been questions regarding Advanced Towing’s practices in the past.
NBC 4 News has reported about a number of complaints involving Advanced Towing – one being a dad whose truck was hooked with two kids inside it back in 2015.
In a different US state, drivers were recently reminded that not all tows are legal.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation laws permit police officers and private property owners to tow illegally parked or abandoned cars.
This means that if a driver is parked in a properly marked tow zone, an owner of the private property can call a tow truck.
In order for the tow to be legal, the tow sign has to meet certain criteria.
Credit: Source link
