Local couple angered at having vehicle towed

The Vehicle Owner

Ron Davis and his wife, Bernadette Cahill, were enjoying lunch at Lovie’s, at the Vicksburg Mall last Friday afternoon. “The meal was great, they’ve got really good food there and the staff was so polite and kind,” said Davis. While they were dining their vehicle, a blue 2019 GMC Terrain, was towed from the handicapped spot in front of Lovie’s. “We have a handicap tag and it was on the console, but turned over. She pulled up in the handicap spot and just forgot about putting the thing up.” Davis and his wife went inside and enjoyed a meal at Lovie’s. “We went out to go get in the car, and guess what, it’s gone. They have hauled it off. I tried calling the manager of the mall and finally found out who had hauled it off. So we went over there to pick it up and we got there and the guy said, well, uh, you can pick your car up but you got to pay the towing fee. I said okay, I’ve got a credit card and he said “We don’t take credit cards it will have to be cash.” I said, well how much and he said $350. Can you believe that!?”

The vehicle on the tow truck. Photo submitted by Bernadette Cahill.

“And I don’t mind paying a reasonable fee to the towing company, but $350?! That is too much money. And they will only take cash. There’s something just not right with this.”

“You know what that does to a business in that town? It’s a killer. They’ve got 175 parking spaces in that lot out there and the (mall) manager’s gonna have people hauled off.”

Davis went on to say, “The way the state law reads is that they can charge whatever they want to. And they will hold your car.” Davis explained further, “They can hold it over 30 days they sell your car.”

The Mall

Jerry Chambers manages the mall and sent a photo saying, “…there is NO placard on the console or anywhere visible in the vehicle.”

Photo submitted by Chambers showing the console area of the vehicle.

“I’ve had handicapped people constantly coming to me and saying ‘we can’t park in a handicap spot because people that aren’t handicapped are parking out there.” “It finally got to the point where, and I warned for like a year again this time, its posted on an electronic board, its posted on the entrance to the mall, every one of the entrances, if you’re parked illegally in the handicapped spot, move your vehicle or it will be towed. And now they’re getting towed again and people are screaming when they park illegally.” Chambers said, “I’ve got it posted every way from Sunday.” Chamber concluded, “Don’t park illegally, that’s all I can tell you. I mean we begged people to stop doing it, don’t do it, don’t do it. I sent memos out for a year to every one of the stores. Don’t do it, we’re going to start towing. Don’t do it, we’re going to start towing. And then, they, you know, they ignore you. So, what are you going to do? I mean it is what it is.”

Lovie’s Seafood at the Mall. Note the handicap parking sign and tow away zone warning. Photo by David Day

“There’s a guy that travels from location to location and he files lawsuits, ADA lawsuits. And we got hit about 2 years ago on an ADA lawsuit because we didn’t have the proper number of handicap spots, we didn’t provide for handicap parking, the ramps weren’t correct, etc, etc, etc. So we had to spend a ton of money getting everything straightened out. And you can get a $150,000 fine if you do not provide for handicapped parking. So all we need is somebody to show up and say, ‘oh, well, they’re not enforcing the handicapped parking out here. If we get another ADA violation and a $150,000 fine, which would not go well for the mall when we’re trying to do as much business as possible.”

Chambers concluded, “We’re trying to do the right thing. And I’m sorry the amount is what it is, but the bottom line is don’t park there.”

The Police

Vicksburg Police Department Chief Penny Jones said a classmate of hers had their vehicle towed. “Her vehicle was towed,” started Jones, “She actually had a handicap sticker but it was in the glove compartment. She was saying that it’s sad and that would make people not want to come and shop.” Then Jones considered, “Being a handicapped person wanting to shop out at the mall, being able to find and secure a parking space where they can pretty much get out and walk-in. I know that they feel some type of way because handicapped parking was specially made for those people. I just wish there were other avenues than towing a vehicle and getting such a hefty bill.”

When asked if the VPD would be passing out tickets for parking in handicapped spots the Chief replied, “That’s something that we just don’t focus on. Not to say that we won’t, but definitely, we certainly have a lot more problems in the city than to just go to the mall parking lot and say hey, well today is going to be my day, I’m going to go to different properties and write tickets. It’s not something we’re going to focus on.”

Vicksburg Police Chief Penny Jones (credit: City of Vicksburg)

Jones then went on to mention a family member of hers who is handicapped but still drives, “I would hate for my (family member) to go out to the mall and she doesn’t have her handicap sticker put on her rearview mirror and then they tow her vehicle. She is already on a fixed income.” Jones then went on to say, “It’s one of those things you have to think about in all directions. I definitely don’t want someone to park where my family member can’t get out at the mall.”

Considering meter maids or some other law enforcement group that focuses on parking violations, Jones responded, “For this little city, this small city and for the area downtown in general, I don’t think we’re having such a problem with people parking where it is an issue where we need something like that.”

Jones then said, “Think about this, just like my friend who doesn’t even live here. She actually has, it’s in the glove compartment, but, say for instance we wrote her a ticket. If we wrote her a ticket and she brought that handicap sticker to the court services window to prove she actually had it, then that would be a citation that she may not even be responsible for even having to pay. But, there is no such thing as your vehicle getting towed, and I show you my handicap sticker are you going to give me my car back? No.”

State Code §27-19-56 (7)

All law enforcement officers are authorized to enforce this section on public and private property. Provision of spaces restricted to handicapped parking and proper marking of such spaces shall be considered as intent and permission to enforce such designated parking on private property. Any owner of private property may tow away a vehicle that is parked on the owner’s private property in violation of the disabled parking restrictions set forth in this section at the vehicle owner’s expense. In addition, the vehicle owner may be subject to any fines or other penalties provided in this section. Only areas marked in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines or equivalent standards shall be enforced. Spaces shall bear the International Symbol of Access.

The Towing Company

“We have a binding contract that states when we pull through there if there’s not a sticker visible that we are to automatically pull it. His (Mr. Davis) was between the seat and the console, and even the cop that came out stated, ‘If it had been me I would have given you a ticket,” explained Billy Adams with A to Z towing. “The tow aways are just a little bit of what we do. When somebody totals their car out we tow them. We do 911’s from here to Madison. 90% of our day is spent helping people.”

The average tow truck costs around $150,000. The larger ones that tow 18-wheelers can cost close to 1 million dollars. A to Z has 5 trucks that operate in this area. While talking with Adams, his phone was ringing constantly “This is my life. I’m on the phone all day. Everything goes through my phone.”

“We love what we do, except for that one part.” Adams went on to say he had just spoken to Mr. Davis, “He came in a little while ago, he was a nice fella. Now Saturday he was…but I get his point. I would have been the same way.”

The Vicksburg Daily News asked Adams why they charge $350 he said, “Everybody around here, that’s what they charge for tow aways. Some charge more, but the average here in Vicksburg is $350 for a tow away.” When asked why people have to pay in cash, Adams said, “When someone pays with their credit card, they can walk out that door and cancel their credit card payment and we’ve lost the money.” A “tow-away” is different than a regular tow. A “tow-away” involves a fully functional vehicle and has higher insurance costs and higher security risks.

“We’ve got insurance, you’ve got fuel for the trucks, we’ve got to send 3 people out – we make sure our guys come home safe.”

Feb 13, 2021, not quite a year ago, tow truck driver George Spratley, Jr died while removing a vehicle from an accident on I-20 near Bovina. The tow truck industry along with fire departments and law enforcement showed up in force to honor Spratley, Jr, their fellow first responder.

“Tow truck drivers are the unsung heroes of many accident scenes,” said Adams.

Billy Adams with A to Z Towing. Photo by David Day

The Alderman

The Vicksburg Daily News spoke with South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour about the issue, specifically regarding Chief Jones’s suggestion that there be a provision for people who have a handicap sticker, to park in handicap spots but they don’t, for whatever reason, display their tag. Monsour said, “Now is the time we need to look at this and see if there is something legislatively we can address to make it easier on the taxpaying citizens if they’re in compliance and they’re able to get their money back. But my goodness, man, towing their car off?! I mean, that’s not even a citation. I just think we need to look at it very closely and see if there’s something we can address.”

The State Representatives

The Vicksburg Daily News spoke with representatives Kevin Ford and Oscar Denton. Denton shared a similar story and sent over a copy of the state code clarifying everyone was within their rights. Ford, when asked directly about the fees, summarized, “That’s the free market.” “It’s just what they charge right now,” said Ford. Addressing the greater issue of the cost of towing and if there is a way to legislate the situation, Ford replied, “The problem with doing anything through statute is that statute is the only way we can speak to an issue is through statute. You might have a good number when we pass the law, but over time that number changes up and down. So you would have to go back in and create some kind of method to do that on, and that’s almost impossible to do.”

Davis concludes

Davis wrapped things up with this summary, “We’re lucky I had my suburban parked a way from there. One of those wonderful young ladies at the restaurant offered to take us down there. She drove us down to my suburban, so we had transportation. But if it had been somebody…what if this has happened to some poor old lady, what would she do?”

“Here’s what I’d like to see come from this; lets we have a city ordinance, if you’re gonna have a vehicle towed, you call the city police and you have them come out and issue a citation,” Davis concluded.

His wife, Bernadette, made a point to include, “The people at Lovie’s were very nice. They were helpful to us. One of the staff in there drove us to Ron’s truck.”

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