A propped vehicle on bricks with missing tires is what one student saw as he arrived at Turner Field to retrieve his only mode of transportation after attending an afternoon class at Georgia State.
Sunday Benard, a Georgia State junior said that he went to pick up his 2001 red Honda Accord from the lot in late August when he discovered thieves had targeted his vehicle stealing all four tires.
“Someone had enough time to jack my car up on bricks and remove all the tires without any parking attendant or security on site,” said Benard. When Benard noticed his vehicle with missing tires said that he searched for a police officer for 20 minutes before finding one across the lot.
“The officer told me that he saw my vehicle at the start of his shift but was waiting for someone to complain about it reporting it,” says Benard.
An Atlanta Braves game was scheduled for that day and required the Georgia State student to remove his vehicle from the lot before 5 p.m. or be in jeopardy of having his vehicle towed at his expense. Benard said that he walked back to campus from Turner Field after the incident.
Georgia State Police (GSUPD) deputy Carlton Mullis said that because his car was towed by Turner Security any recourse related to towing fees and the wrecker service would need to come from them.
“Unfortunately, sometimes despite all our best efforts, we still can become a victim of a crime,” said Mullis.
Buckhead Towing, Inc. towed and impounded the Georgia State student vehicle the next day after receiving confirmation from a supervisor on duty at GSUPD that his car would not be towed. Buckhead Towing, Inc. was contacted for this article and no response has been received as of yet.
Benard contacted Tows-R-Us ATL to retrieve his vehicle from Buckhead Towing Inc. Tows-R-Us ATL said that they are not the main tow company for Turner Field however, they were able to assist the student in retrieving his vehicle from Buckhead Towing, Inc.
Sean Skeete, Tows-R-Us ATL half-owner said they assisted Benard in getting his car from the impound at Buckhead Towing, Inc. and transported the vehicle to a local shop to have the tires replaced.
“We lent Benard money to get his vehicle out of impound so he could get his vehicle back. We understand how hard it is out here and we wanted to help him out,” said Skeete.
“The time that I have now had to spend on this, and still spending on this issue, taking days from school, work and the mounting cost from this and the repairs to my car should be reimbursed to me,” said Benard.
Benard said that he sent a letter to Georgia State President Mark Becker to meet with him to discuss the opportunities that were missed by Georgia State, Turner Field and Campus Security.
“I still haven’t received any communication from President Becker or his executive staff and I feel as though my letter has been ignored,” said Benard.
