Truck driver Kevin Gray ended up with a hefty fine after parking his rig in a parking lot near Atlanta during Hurricane Irma.
Gray, an independent hauler, said he made the choice to stop and park in a strip mall in Decatur off Interstate 20 after feeling and seeing the effects of Irma’s 40 to 50mph wind gusts Monday night.
“I passed a truck on the side of the road, flipped over on the way,” Gray told 11alive.com.
Gray, who had been hauling chemicals, said he didn’t want to risk a spill and so he opted to stop and get some rest in his cab until the winds died down. Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, Gray got out of his truck and saw that it had been booted.
While there’s a no parking sign posted in the lot warning drivers of a $650 fine, Gray thought State Impound Authority of Atlanta would show him some mercy because of the storm. No such luck.
“I think he understood, but I don’t think he really cared,” Gray said recalling his conversation with an Impound Authority rep.
Thinking that he had reached a dead-end and eager to get back out on the road, Gray agreed to pay the $650 fine.
Hard Working Trucks reached out to State Impound Authority for comment, but as of 9 p.m. EST, still hasn’t heard back from the agency.
In anticipation of Irma, Georgia had declared a state of emergency and took various steps in preparing for the historic storm, including opening highways to contraflow to speed up evacuations.
