ALL DOLLARS AND NO SENSE: Car Smashed Onto Curb in Hit-And-Run Gets Ticket From Hoboken Parking Utility

Earlier today, Hoboken Parking Dude reported a hit-and-run smash up near the corner of 2nd & Garden Streets, where a car quite obviously plowed into the driver’s side of a (thankfully) parked Toyota Corolla.

The images were posted at 9:56 a.m., but there’s currently no insight as to when the collision actually occurred.

Hoboken Police had left a note on the windshield for the car’s owner, with a case number for their reference. That note is visible in Hoboken Parking Dude’s 9:56 a.m. post.

Later on, under the other windshield wiper, the ever-diligent Hoboken Parking Utility also left a note—in the form of a parking ticket (wait for it…) FOR IMPROPER PARKING, as the car’s passenger side front tire had jumped the curb as a result of the collision.

The ticket was first spotted by hMAG reader Amy Sommer, who put her own picture of the ticket on the facebook post we shared from Hoboken Parking Dude.

In the spirit of trust-but-verify, we put on our journalism pants and went over to check it out for ourselves. Sure enough, in a ticket issued at 1:46 p.m. by PEO A. Torres, the car that was smashed onto the curb has been deemed in violation of code 39:4-135 and is subject to a $54 fine.

To the rear of the vehicle, there’s a hubcap. In front of the vehicle, there’s the shell of a side view mirror—which quite obviously came off the driver’s side mirror that is visibly smashed, just above the quite noticeably smashed driver’s side door.

So.. not for nothing, it’s pretty clear this vehicle was involved in an accident.

hMAG has reached out to the Hoboken Parking Utility for comment. In the meantime, if anyone has any information on the car, its owner or the incident, please contact the Hoboken Police Department at 201.420.2100.

UPDATE: Hoboken’s Transportation and Parking Director Ryan Sharp replied this morning via twitter, claiming the ticket was “an honest mistake.”

Guys, it was an honest mistake by the PEO. Most PEOs patrol the city on foot, via the sidewalk, so if no clear sign of damage on side of the vehicle facing the sidewalk (which there wasn't here), then they are only seeing a car that appears to be improperly parked on the sidewalk

— Ryan Sharp (@RSharp20) September 8, 2018

…and HPU will be recommending that the ticket be dismissed. I hope @KenFerrante's excellent HPD can track down the perp that hit this vehicle. 🚔

— Ryan Sharp (@RSharp20) September 8, 2018

That answer didn’t sit well with Hoboken Parking Dude…

To walk by this car, stop and write a ticket is absolutely irresponsible. It just speaks to the lack of training these attendants have and the predatory and over agressive nature of ticketing in this city. You had to walk over debris!!! Lol. Come on!

— Parking Dude (@theParkingDude) September 8, 2018

***