A parking enforcement volunteer for the City of Houston says a woman was so angry she was getting a citation she hit her with her car.
Marilynn Coleman, 63, says she was at a Wal-Mart on the Northwest Freeway and Tidwell on July 3 when she saw a Ford Focus parked in a handicap parking spot without a placard or designation on the license plate.
She says she asked the female driver, who had two young children with her, several times for her placard.
When the woman did not produce one, Coleman told her she was going to write her a $500 citation.
First, Coleman says, the driver cursed at her. Then, she backed into her with her car.
“I started beating on the car and I said, ‘Ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am.’ And at that point, I’d say she backed up again and she hit me harder, and then I went down,” Coleman said.
The driver took off. Coleman was not injured. Houston police responded and took a report for aggravated assault.
Maria Irshad, assistant director for ParkHouston told ABC13, “We are distressed to hear about this incident and have reached out to Ms. Coleman to express our concern for her safety and well-being. Ms. Coleman is one of more than 400 valued volunteers that the City of Houston has trained as part of the volunteer parking enforcement program.”
Coleman wants police to find the driver and charge her with a crime. She also plans to continue to volunteer.
She is disabled and knows how precious the handicap parking spaces are.
“Somebody’s gotta do it, and why not Ms. Coleman,” she said.
