DETROIT (WXYZ) - A man who has been wheelchair-bound for decades found himself facing fines and threats for parking in a handicap parking space. Why would the city of Detroit issue the parking violation, and what is the local man doing to fight it?
WATCH BILL SPENCER'S REPORT IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ON THE RIGHT
Read Bill Spencer's Script Below:
Bill Spencer: “So, how many trips does this make for you?”
Winston Elam: “This is number three.”
Fifty-year-old Winston Elam is once again on his way to the Detroit Parking Violations Department to fight a ticket he never should have been given.
Winston Elam: “I do what I normally do - I park in front of the house, went out the next day and had a parking ticket. I immediately called them, explained the situation that I was handicapped.”
For 15 years, Elam worked as an electrician for the Detroit Moving Door Company. In fact, he installed the security gate in front of the Detroit Parking Violations Department.
At the tender age of 20-years-old, Winston lost the use of his legs when he was in a horrible car accident. He’s been in a wheelchair ever since.
In October 2005, Winston was ticketed for parking in his own handicap parking spot and issued a $100 ticket.
Winston: “It’s a handicap spot. I’m handicapped. To me it’s a no-brainer. It just doesn’t make sense.”
For four long years, Winston has been fighting to get this ticket dismissed, and he's gotten nowhere.
Winston: “No, it doesn’t make sense. Why should I have to pay anything at all?”
To finally bring this case to a close, Channel 7 decided to accompany Winston and fight right along side him with the city officials who are hell-bent on making him pay this ridiculous violation.
So now Winston Elam and Channel 7 News are stuck waiting in a hallway, just like hundreds of other city residents do every day - waiting to see what the city will do.
Winston: “It’s a sad reality how things have to get to such a point where you can’t be listened to unless it’s a major big issue."
We'll tell you how a small issue became a major one down at City Hall and what Winston had to do to be heard. That's coming up tonight at 11 PM on Channel 7.
