Thieves racked up thousands of dollars in speeding tickets with a Maryland man’s car before it was recovered, and though most of the tickets were dismissed, D.C. says the man still owes almost $700.
“I had a bit of agoraphobic tendencies after COVID, so I wasn’t going out a lot,” Zack Smedley said. “And so, my therapist was like, ‘Hey, Zack, why don’t we try exposure therapy?’ Where you go out for a night and see that nothing bad will happen. And I said, ‘That sounds good!’”
But on Jan. 29, his blue Hyundai Sonata was stolen from the Greenbelt Metro station.
“We had an AirTag in the car, so we could see it just kind of bouncing around D.C.,” Smedley said.
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Police found the car days later in Virginia. The inside was trashed, and the car was a total loss.
Then the tickets started coming in the mail, and the fees stacked up.
“It was a letter from the DMV, and then another letter from the DMV and then another letter from the DMV,” Smedley said.
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He appealed the tickets and by summer thought the ordeal was behind him. Then this month, a collection notice came in the mail.
“That said, Hey, you know these two tickets you were found guilty for back in June? You owe a bunch of money on them, and we’re looking to impound your car. We’re going to take your Hyundai Sonata from you,” Smedley said. “And it’s like, Well, a couple of teenagers beat you to that 10 months ago.”
The DMV had waved six out of the eight tickets, leaving him on the hook for $660. The DMV says the appeal window passed so the case is closed.
The charges against the accused car thieves were dismissed due to a technicality.
“I just started laughing,” Smedley said. “I was just like, OK, what now?”
He said he’s trying to keep a positive attitude. At a dead end with the DMV, he may hire a lawyer.
“They picked a guy and accused me of stuff I can prove I didn’t do, and they’re saying we’re not going to look at that. Give us money, please,” Smedley said. “And I don't know what I can do about that.”
News4 reached out to the D.C. DMV for a statement and is waiting on a response.
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