A grieving mother was shocked by a judge’s response when she explained why she was unable to pay her parking tickets (video below).
A woman named Andrea was in court for several unpaid parking tickets. Two tickets dated back to 2004 and 2005, of which she was not aware. The two tickets only added up to $50, however.
Then the judge, Judge Frank Caprio, went over her more recent tickets, for which she owed several hundred dollars.
Andrea began explaining what had been going on in her life recently that has left her unable to pay for her parking tickets. She explained that in March 2016, her son passed away, according to LittleThings.
The grieving mother explained that on top of still paying for her son’s funeral, she has had a number of financial obstacles since his death. Shortly after her son passed away, the social security office stopped sending Andrea her check because her son owed $75 to the state. When she left the social security office to discuss the matter, she came out to find a parking ticket on her car.
Later in the year, because of her financial struggles, Andrea was facing eviction from her landlord. When she went to eviction court to settle the dispute, she came back to her car to find another ticket.
One other time, after going to legal services to try to get assistance, she had to stop in a coffee shop for change and when she left, she had yet another ticket.
“It’s like I can’t win,” Andrea told the judge.
The mother told the judge through tears that between paying for her son’s funeral and trying to find a new apartment after being evicted, she couldn’t put together the money to pay her tickets. She also said that she has been feeling “empty and lost” and that is on anti-depressants.
Judge Caprio was stunned by Andrea’s story. He expressed his sympathy to the struggling mother and told her that he would reduce her fines to just $50. He asked how much time she would need to pay the fine and she told him that she had the money on her.
When the judge followed up by asking if that was all of the money she had, Andrea said that it would leave her with $5. Shocked, the judge told her that he couldn’t leave her with her last $5, so he dismissed all of the citations.
Watch the touching moment below:
Sources: LittleThings, YouTube / Photo Credit: YouTube via Good News Network
