7 On Your Side helps Army veteran with mistaken vehicle identification
BROOKLYN (WABC) -- A military veteran who resides upstate says she is being blamed for putting the pedal to the metal after being caught on a speeding camera in Brooklyn - but it wasn't her.
After providing proof and appealing with no victory, the private was not accepting defeat, so she called 7 On Your Side.
There are more than 2,000 speed cameras in New York City's five boroughs, snapping photos of speeders' license plates. But what if a car has the same plate number as an official city car? You won't believe who was actually breaking the law.
"So, it would be a six-hour drive without traffic to get all the way to you guys. But with traffic it would probably be longer," Lidia Tschetter-Bennison said.
Tschetter-Bennison lives all the way up in Evans Mills, New York, along the Canadian Border. She got a speeding camera ticket all the way down in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
"This is kind of crazy that it literally says NYPD police right on it. You know, I was like why am I getting sent this?" Tschetter-Bennison said.
The New York Police Department patrol car caught speeding on camera shared the same license plate digits as Tschetter-Bennison's special disabled military veteran license plate, emblazoned with the American flag.
"I did call them because I was like 'uh this is obviously a mistake. Where do I go from here?' And they said 'Oh it happens. You know, sometimes, just dispute the ticket," Tschetter-Bennison said.
The Army private followed orders and appealed on the city's traffic camera website.
"When I got this notice, it went up from $50 up to $75 because apparently, I never responded, which is not true. I definitely did several times and called them several times regarding this," Tschetter-Bennison said.
She marched to the Department of Motor Vehicles next.
"At least at my local DMV, they told me they can't do anything until my license gets suspended, then they can step in and help," Tschetter-Bennison said.
While rifling through all the tickets and notices she has received, Tschetter-Bennison counts the documents in front of her.
"The first one, the second one, the third one, the fourth one. I have five, but the fifth one is the decision order," she said.
That order denied the veteran's appeal.
"Yeah, I could get booted in front of my house. And they said they could tow it too," Tschetter-Bennison said.
This was not something Tschetter-Bennison, while on a disability fixed income, could risk since the former servicemember has a side hustle as an Uber driver, so she paid the penalty and raised a flag for 7 On Your Side.
"Who else could possibly help me? You know what? The news, because then other people can hear this and know if this is happening to them, they're not alone in this situation," she said.
We sent the violation straight to the city's Department of Finance. Within days, good news came from the front.
"I have the refund for the ticket. That was $75.34," Tschetter-Bennison said.
More than the money, her driving record, like the Army private's service record, is spotless.
"I'm not speeding in school zones anymore in a police car," Tschetter-Bennison sarcastically said.
If you get a photo of a violation, and it's not your car or there's another mistake, gather all your evidence, registration and photos, submit them all together with a defense because usually you only get one appeal. After that, it's court if you choose to keep fighting.
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