Houston, TX — Deidre Merryweather received insult to injury this past week after discovering that a parking ticket had been placed on her submerged Ford Taurus. Ms. Merryweather had abandoned her vehicle in northwest Houston on Tuesday as flood waters unexpectedly rose in her neighborhood following the emergency release from a nearby reservoir.
“We were told to get out as fast as we could,” said an angry and despondent Ms. Merryweather recounting her harrowing escape. “We thought we had escaped the flood, but then they released all that water for the dam, and it came in quickly. I was on my way out when the waters swept up my car and it floated into the middle of the road. I ran into a nearby house to gather myself, and when I came out, there was a mother [explicative deleted] parking ticket on my car.”
According to a representative from the City of Houston, Ms. Merryweather was one of the hundreds who received similar tickets.
“We issued many similar parking citations over the past few days,” said a terse Houston Parking Commissioner Daphne Broderick. “It is important for people not allow their vehicles to block rescue and recovery operations. Many were cited for unauthorized parking in the middle of the street. Perhaps next time they’ll think twice before leaving their cars there.”
Ms. Merryweather said she doesn’t plan on paying the citation.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” she continued. “I don’t even have a car anymore. Nor a house. Nor anything after these [explicative deleted] decided to release all of that water. So you can bet your sweet [explicative deleted] that I’m going to take this ticket and shove it right up their [explicative deleted]s. Capiche?”
The City of Houston says it will extend payment periods for any parking citations by 7 business days, but no longer. Payments can be mailed to:
Parking Management / P. O. Box 203947 / Houston, TX 77216-3947 or violators can show in person to settle up no later than September 15th.
