A Los Angeles family caught their car in the snow two years ago. They hitched a ride home and had it returned with the help of a tow truck company, but now the California Department of Transportation has hit them with a hefty bill of 6,000 yuan (US $).
According to ABC 7 News, Mike & Keren Weiss complained that more than two years after the incident, they are still Mired in bureaucratic red tape and no one wants to listen.
Mr. And Mrs. Weiss got a $6,000 bill from Caltrans.
Mr. And Mrs. Weiss received a $6,000 bill from Caltrans. abc 7
On December 18, 2021, Weiss, his wife and their two children were heading up Highway 2 to play in the snow at a flat ski resort, just after a winter storm hit the area.
Michael McDow: “We reviewed Google Maps and it said it was an hour and a half drive, it was a clear day, there was no snow on the ground, it all added up to a breeze.”
However, when they drove a few miles past Mount Islip, heavy snow piled up on the road and the Jeep got stuck in the snow.
“The snow didn’t look that heavy,” Mike recalled, “but as we drove past, the car started to accelerate until it was no longer stationary.”
The other drivers offered to assist, but had no choice but to let the jeep re-drive, and one driver even warned that the line ahead had been hit and did not inherit it.
But what Mike and Karen didn’t know was that they were actually on a route that had been closed to the public since December 18th, and they were driving through a gate that Caltrans had ordered closed, and for some reason the gate was closed.
Karen said there was no cell phone reception in the SAN Gabriel Mountains and she had no choice but to contact anyone and send roadside support.
As time passed, they decided to abandon the car for a while and hitchhike down the mountain with some good Samaritans before the sun went down.
Back home in Los Feliz, Mike begins to beat the wind, trying to figure out how to retrieve the car abandoned on the mountain.
He first called the California Highway Patrol, who provided Caltrans with contact information, and contacted him at the end of the day on Monday.
After going to bed that night, the police suddenly came to the door because they found an abandoned vehicle in the mountains.
The next morning, Mike finally contacted someone at Caltrans, who told him that he would have to hire a tow truck company, but that they would slam the locked door.
The couple eventually approached a transportation department representative through a towing company hired by the dealership, who slammed the gate shut and allowed the tow truck driver to retrieve the stranded vehicle.
A few hours later, the car was towed back at the expense of the support company, but a month later, they received a bill from the California Department of Transportation for wild and equipment costs of $6,034.06.
According to the substance of the bill, expenses include snow removal, gate closing and staff assistance for Sunday, December 19, 2021.
Karen exaggerates that not only did they not go up the mountain on Sundays, they never dialed 911.
The TV station got that there was indeed an emergency telephone from the mountain area at about 5:57 p.m. on the same day, but the mobile phone signal was not good, and the operator had no choice but to confirm the location and factors.
Los Angeles County police admitted that has been helpless to find the dial de law wind, but the current to the mobile phone coordinates abettor status, the scene found three trapped vehicles, including pregnant Weiss’s jeep.
Mike had repeatedly told the department of Transportation that he had never called 911 and did not have to work on a huge bill.
They admitted that they were driving on the open route, but the gate was closed at that time, and they did not know that they were driving on the road that was closed by the traffic bureau by mistake.
Karen asked, “Who is responsible for keeping people out of dangerous routes? Why aren’t they behind closed doors? One door closes, but the other door closes.”
When the media approached Caltrans, the response was brief: “Safety is Caltrans’ primary mission, including the annual winter safety needs to open to the public, withered routes.” We are reviewing the situation.”