Mayo: Elias Konwufine tragedy — parking at home shouldn't bring tow, or death - Sun Sentinel

Mayo: Elias Konwufine tragedy — parking at home shouldn't bring tow, or death - Sun Sentinel:



I don't know how he ended up under the wheels of the car, but the dispute is one of these absurd things that happens all the time in associations.  You can't park in front of your own home without getting towed, even for a short time, even if nobody complains.  Ridiculous.



"After a dispute with the tow driver, Konwufine apparently was run over by his Mercedes as it was being hauled away.

Konwufine was a married father of three, a professor and associate dean at Keiser University. When he came home Jan. 16, his autistic son's tutor was parked in the second spot in his driveway. So Konwufine pulled in behind, jutting onto the sidewalk and swale area.

Apparently, in the Sienna Greens community where he lived, that was a towable offense.

"He was going to be there, what, maybe an hour?" said Dean Freeman, attorney for the Konwufine family.

Konwufine wasn't blocking any neighbors. He wasn't bothering anybody. If someone was walking down the sidewalk, they'd maybe have to go 10 feet out of their way to get around his car...Freeman said the homeowners association had a contract with Superior Lock and Roadside Assistance to tow parking violators. The tow company apparently performed its job with relish, with residents saying trucks roamed the area looking for cars to tow – and revenue to generate. A woman who answered the phone at Superior on Wednesday said, "I'm not interested in talking."  Freeman said the deadly incident was a case of "surfing" by the tow driver, which is banned by the new county ordinance. He said nobody complained about Konwufine's parked car: "No one has stepped forward to say they called the tow yard.""