SARASOTA TRAFFIC BLOG: Red Light Camera Fines The Wrong Sarasota Woman As System Breaks Down
The West Palm Beach attorney who has taken up the fight against Red Light Cameras in the State of Florida has made the point that the devices are causing people to be fined even though the red light cameras do not identify drivers only cars and the owner of the car is presumed guilty, which is the opposite of the standard which is presumed innocent until proven guilty. If he needs a case to illustrate that point, he only needs to talk with Sarasota’s Silvia Cuervo. Her frustrating story is detailed in today’s Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Cuervo has received two tickets from red light cameras. The problem is she drives a 2003 Nissan and it’s a Mercury sedan pictured slowly rolling through red lights. Oh and the tag number on the car that was in violation of the red light cameras isn’t even close to the one on her car. On top of that one of the tickets came from Lakeland, a city she has never been to.
The first time Cuervo got ticketed she just paid the fine. The second time she decided she would try and find out what was going on. She got no help from the people in Lakeland and was told she could drive the 80 miles to defend herself against a ticket she should never have received. Tom Lyons of the Sarasota Herald Tribune contacted Lakeland officials and they stood by the ticket saying the car on camera had a plate registered to Cuervo.
Thanks to Lyons who then contacted the DMV, it was discovered that the people in charge of verifying the photos in Lakeland misread the tag on the car in the photo. That wasn’t the only mistake. The police officer who is supposed to provide the checks and balances in the system didn’t verify the tag they believed was on the car matched the vehicle description. Lyons makes the point that nobody cared to check Cuervo’s story despite strong evidence. The company that runs the cameras and the city seemed to be banking on the fact she would just pay the ticket like she did before and the money would keep rolling in for the city.
If you have a traffic ticket in Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakeland or anywhere in Florida, we can help. Please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTicket.com. Also you can contact David via email.
