Good Samaritan fights ticket after stopping swerving driver

We Remember, Inc.

By: Dave Balut

Daniel Drake

Tampa - It's not everyday someone takes time off from work to meet with a Florida Highway Patrol supervisor about a traffic ticket, but tow truck operator Daniel Drake thinks he's got a pretty good excuse.

TOW TRUCK OPERATOR / DANIEL DRAKE:
"It was certainly an emergency situation. They shouldn't have been on the road."

Drake went in to complain about a trooper who wrote him a $120 ticket for improperly stopping on a highway, blocking the flow of traffic.

On I-275 in Tampa Wednesday, Drake told 10 News he helped another vehicle box in the driver of a Honda Civic because she was swerving and appeared to be impaired. They forced her to stop toward the breakdown lane.

A trooper arrested the woman for driving under the influence, then gave Drake the ticket for blocking the highway.

TOW TRUCK OPERATOR / DANIEL DRAKE:
"What a jackass!"

After an hour and ten minutes, Drake came out of the FHP office with a poker face. The FHP supervisor did not void the ticket, so he’ll fight it in court.

TOW TRUCK OPERATOR / DANIEL DRAKE:
"Oh yeah, they ain’t getting no money out of me."

The FHP has started an internal investigation into how the trooper handled the incident.

Drake says he helped stop the woman because two of his children were killed by a drunk driver a year-and-a-half ago.

For more information:
We Remember, Inc.
P.O. Box 10126
Brooksville, FL 34603-0126 US
1-888-588-4525

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