24 year-old woman shamelessly uses dead person's handicapped permit

[Hum]

The familiar blue, handicapped-only signs in front of the most coveted parking spaces near the entrances of buildings, restaurants and bars warn violators that their cars could be towed and they could be fined up to $250.

What the signs don't say is that drivers could be arrested.

Ashley Hickey, 24, of Altamonte Springs, learned this late Tuesday night when she was arrested on charges of fraudulently using a handicap permit to park in a lot on Garland Avenue in Downtown Orlando.

The parking lot at 26 South Garland Avenue has a history of parking violations, Hickey's arrest report says.

According to the report, a police officer saw Hickey's black 2007 two-door BMW in the handicap space in the parking lot near the downtown bar district. He scanned the parking decal and determined that the owner of the decal was dead. :crazy:

A tow truck came to remove the car just as Hickey was walking back. Police say she took off running toward the car and told police she parked in the space because she was picking up her mother and grandmother, the owner of the decal.

When the officer told her he already scanned the decal and determined the owner was not alive, she first said she must have grabbed the wrong permit and that she was picking up her living grandmother.

She later changed her story and admitted that she was only picking up her mother who had asthma but did not have a permit to park in handicap spaces.

Hickey was arrested and granted $250 bail.

Her car was towed. Inside police found a loaded handgun in a holster in Hickey's glove compartment and a radar detector.

The gun was also legal and the report said police confiscated it for safekeeping but Hickey can pick it up with proper identification.

The charge for illegally using a handicap decal is a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine up to $1,000.

source

[BajiRav]

More often than not I see perfectly mobile people using handicapped tags in their cars I get irritated when I had to take my infant daughter from parking to inside whatever building in bad weather and then I see these *******s abusing the handycap lots (and some places have unreasonably large numbers IMO).

[Growled Member]

Yeah, I see it a lot too. It annoys me no end.

[jnelsoninjax]

The problem is very simple, 99% of the time a person with a real need for a handicap sticker do need them and do use them, however there is always the grand kids borrowing grannies car and then park in the handicap parking spot. Parking enforcement and police can not really do anything about it unless they see the person getting in and out of the car. I have seen this all too often lately, and it really is not hard to get the tag, all you have to do is have the doctor fill out a form and submit it to DMV, they then issue it to you and no cost!

[Rohdekill]

More often than not I see perfectly mobile people using handicapped tags in their cars I get irritated when I had to take my infant daughter from parking to inside whatever building in bad weather and then I see these *******s abusing the handycap lots (and some places have unreasonably large numbers IMO).

Just because people "appear" mobile, does not mean they necessarily are fully mobile. You are not one to judge, neither am I. This is why a physician must recommend one and the dmv authorizes it. My fiance has a temporary one. She can walk a good two miles, but due to her condition, which causes swelling and pain in the joints, she is authorized one. You would never think anything wrong with her by the 30 seconds you would see her walking in/out to her car though.

[sagum]

Just because people "appear" mobile, does not mean they necessarily are fully mobile. You are not one to judge, neither am I. This is why a physician must recommend one and the dmv authorizes it. My fiance has a temporary one. She can walk a good two miles, but due to her condition, which causes swelling and pain in the joints, she is authorized one. You would never think anything wrong with her by the 30 seconds you would see her walking in/out to her car though.

Also, lets not forget the people that actually help the very bad cases. My dad can't walk very far at all, he needs help getting in and out of the car and can't drive himself anymore due to lack of balance. However, he has one and its for use with any car he's making use of. So while it might seem that a perfectly abled body person is getting in the car and driving away... they very well might be. However did you see them struggling for near 5 minutes trying to help their passenger out of the car and into the building? or how about 30 minutes later when that person you just saw park up get out perfectly fine is walking a near cripple down the path to the car?

Not everything is black and white. It saddens me when I park up and have to shrug the on-lookers of disappointment knowing they'll not see me helping my dad back into the car.