Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Man, That's Harsh - Even for the PPA

A dad needed to carry his injured kid into her school. Next time, maybe he should let her walk in on her steam?

We all have our own Philadelphia Parking Authority horror stories. This is Kevin Mill's tale of mean-spiritedness, from a PPA enforcement agent named M. Sadowski.

Last week, Mill's adorable  9-year-old daughter, Kaya, broke her ankle when jumping down the steps at Carnell Elementary School at Devereaux and Summerdale in the Northeast, where she's a third-grader. She got herself a nifty cast but was still unsteady on her crutches  - especially on steps - when she returned to school on June 11th.

So Mills, being a good dad, drove her there, parked the Nissan Quest at the curb out front, switched on the hazard lights, carried Kaya up the steps and into the school and returned, minutes later, to find a $36 ticket for Parking in a School Zone.

Ok, fair enough. How was ticket-writer M. Sadowski supposed to know that Mills was playing medical-transport driver for his injured kid?

Three days later, Mills needed to drive Kaya to school again. This time, he left a note on the windshield stating, "My daughter is on crutches. I'm taking her into school. Be back in a minute."

He hoped for understanding. But, as this photo shows, ticket writer M. Sadowski was not moved by Mills' fatherly concern. Maybe Sadowski thought, "If I cut slack to one parent trying to help their injured kid, pretty soon EVERY parent is gonna want to help their injured kid. Hell, no - not on MY watch!"

"I didn't really know what my alternative was," says Mills, who - duh -  plans to appeal both tickets. "Kaya needed to be carried. It didn't make sense to carry her for blocks."

I hope the hearing examiner feels the same way.