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Driver Gets Ticket After Swerving And Crashing To Avoid Falling Sofa

Driver Gets Ticket After Swerving And Crashing To Avoid Falling Sofa

A Florida highway trooper gave the £120 fine to the woman for failing to drive in a single lane

Anonymous

Anonymous

A woman who flipped her car after swerving to avoid a falling sofa on the motorway was handed a $166 (£120) traffic ticket in hospital.

The woman was driving home to Washington, D.C., with her boyfriend Jake Singer on 20 February after visiting family in Florida when the sofa fell from a truck in front.

Following the crash a highway trooper paid them an unwelcome visit at hospital to hand them the fine for failing to drive in a single lane.

Singer told the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "He gave us a ticket for basically swerving lanes while trying to avoid a couch that was flying at us on the highway.

"We got so p***ed."

And who could blame him?

PeterKraayvanger/Pixabay

The sofa had tumbled into their lane after falling, forcing the 2006 Toyota Corolla into the central reservation, tipping the car onto its roof.

The crash left the couple hanging upside down from their seats, but the truck in front didn't stop.

People passing by helped the couple, surprised their injuries were not more severe, as reported by the Sun Sentinel.

Singer said: "People were hugging us and freaking out.

"The fact we were standing there, nobody could believe it, including us."

The couple were driven to Lawnwood Hospital in ambulances where Trooper Eric Flint made his entrance with the $166 ticket.

Singer said the officer was nervous to give them the news, adding that he could understand why.

Twitter/@jakesing_

He said: "I actually put together what I thought was a reasonable argument.

"I was like: 'My understanding of traffic tickets is that you guys lay out the rules of the road and if we violate the rules of the road, you can give us a ticket. But the starting point is that you're giving us a safe road to drive on, and I'm pretty sure couches flying in the air breaks the contract, and we have to do whatever to stay alive'."

While Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Yanko Reyes agreed it was a tough decision, he added that troopers have ultimate discretion in such cases.

Reyes said: "Remember, in Florida it is recommended to have at least a two-vehicle length between your vehicle and the vehicles in front of you because that way you have enough time to react in case something like this happens, you're able to avoid any and all difficulties.

"At the end of the day you are still responsible for the vehicle."

Words: Clifford Mason

Featured Image Credit: @jakesing_/Twitter

Topics: US News