DC woman relieved of thousands in speed camera tickets after DMV mix-up
WASHINGTON - Good news — a woman who had been hit with thousands of dollars in speed camera tickets from the D.C. DMV won't have to pay a dime.
FOX 5 initially reported on Nov. 1, after Angela DeVore reached out and said she was frustrated with the lack of help she was receiving from District officials.
Following that initial story, Fox 5's Homa Bash checked in with the DMV constantly, and on Monday - nearly three weeks later - DeVore received an email that all of those traffic tickets have been dismissed, and her case has been closed.
She said it's a huge relief, and she's grateful she reached out to FOX 5 when she did.
"I want to thank God that it's done, it's over with, I don't have to deal with it anymore. I want to thank you and the FOX 5 family for being there and getting my story out there, and I also want to thank the DMV," DeVore said.
DeVore's predicament began back in June, when she started receiving automatic speed camera tickets nearly every week - more than two dozen from D.C., Maryland and Virginia - totaling thousands of dollars.
Here's the problem: the photos captured by the speed enforcement cameras show a two-door BMW convertible - but DeVore owns a four-door Volkswagen Jetta.
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The license plates are almost the same – except the one getting tickets has a dash in zero, which is why it seems the system was glitching and sending citations to DeVore instead.
When she told DMVs in Maryland and Virginia about the mixup, they dismissed the tickets immediately.
The D.C. DMV, however, said she had to keep continually contesting them, and for months, told her they were still investigating.
"It was frustrating, it was draining. I felt like I was being targeted," DeVore said.
"I want to jump for joy but I don't want to hurt myself," she added, laughing with relief.
The DMV did not clarify to DeVore exactly why the case was closed - for example, if the other plates were fake or cloned, or who will be responsible for payment now.
But she wants to encourage people facing the same issue to speak up, and stay persistent.
Below is the statement sent to Fox 5 from a DMV spokesperson:
"A Hearing Examiner has dismissed the tickets in question. A hearing record will be mailed to Ms. DeVore’s address on file. DC DMV encourages residents with questions or concerns about tickets to reach out for assistance."
"For customers who may encounter this rare circumstance, we recommend the following:
Immediately file a Police Report with MPD: https://mpdc.dc.gov/service/file-police-report
Contest the ticket(s) to be dismissed: Contest Parking and Photo Enforcement Tickets | dmv
Prior to contesting the ticket, customers are welcome to reach out to our DMV Ticket Adjudication Ombudsman for advisement: Ticket Adjudication Ombudsman | dmv
For all customer matters the DMV can be reached online: Contact Us | dmv
Please consider registering for DMV’s Ticket Alert Service (Registration for Ticket Alert Service (TAS) | dmv) to ensure that you have an extra layer of notification for tickets issued to your vehicle."
An agency spokesperson from the DMV sent a statement to Fox 5 about the incident. Read the full statement below:
"A DC DMV Hearing Examiner determined that Ms. DeVore's case is not a fraudulent or duplicate plate case, but rather a misidentified plate case. Due to the Drivers Protection Act, we cannot provide information in reference to the other plate as it belongs to a different person."