SAN DIEGO — Anne Dell'Acqua, 78, says a "senior moment" left her with a more than $450 parking ticket from the city of San Diego.
Dell'Acqua says she parked in a handicap spot in front of Nordstrom Rack in Mission Valley but forgot to display her handicapped placard.
"I have the documentation, and I'm not the kind of person that would park in a handicap spot unless I had the placard to go with it," said Dell'Acqua.
Dell'Acqua says she has Osteoporosis in both knees, which is why she has a placard. She tried to appeal the parking ticket, but her appeal was denied.
Her citation was for $440, plus a mandated state surcharge of $12.50 dollars, bringing the total to $452.50.
Dell'Acqua says she was "shocked" when she saw the price and says she and her husband will have to pull from their retirement account to pay for it.
"Both of us are on Social Security and retirement, so that's like two weeks of groceries for us."
Dell'Acqua believes she included proof of her handicap placard, like "the card number and the date it expires June 30, 2025, and an identification card" when she appealed the citation.
However, the city responded to ABC 10News, saying in part:
She did not provide proof of her ownership of a placard. We are unable to search by name only for disabled placards and could only deny her appeal. She is now attempting to take the citation to the second level of appeal, an administrative hearing, but she still needs to provide proof of the placard.
A response from the city Dell'Acqua saying a "deposit equal to the citation amount" is required for a hearing.
Dell'Acqa says, "will be more careful in the future" and wants to better understand how decisions regarding appeals are made.
