Driver given red light camera ticket for car he doesn’t own, has never driven, from a city he’s never visited

For weeks, Andrew Rainey of Orlando, Florida has been fighting a red light camera ticket he received for a car he doesn’t own, and never drove, from a camera in a city he’s never been to. As reported by WFTV Channel 9, Miami-Dade County sent the 20-year-old student the ticket along with a picture of what the court was claiming to be his car committing the violation.

The red light ticket photo that Andrew Rainey received. (WFTV)

But, several key pieces of information gave Rainey pause. He explained what he was thinking when he saw the citation, “’Wait I’ve never been to Miami. What is this?’ and then I started looking at it more closely and I was like, ‘Oh, this is not good.’”

The violating car’s license plate (top) compared to the license plate on Andrew Rainey’s truck.  (WFTV)

The license plate shown in the fuzzy pictures sent by Miami-Dade County looked very similar to Rainey’s license plate, but the fourth letter was questionable and could be a “D,” “Q,” or “0.”

Aside from that point, Rainey saw a more obvious discrepancy. “Immediately I noticed the roundness of the car. I was like, my car’s a truck. It has a square back,” said Rainey.

Andrew Rainey with his truck. (WFTV)

With that evidence, Mr. Rainey called the courts to get the ticket dismissed, thinking it would be a simple matter to clear up. It wasn’t. “They told me I’d have to take it up with the Miami-Dade court,” Rainey recounted. He would have to travel to Miami to appeal the ticket in person. While the busy student with two jobs can’t afford to take the trip, he is now trying to make it to Miami because if it isn’t resolved Rainey says, “it’s pending on suspending my license.”