BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — During their 38 years of marriage, Milena and Terry Mathes shared a passion for cars. In 2019, Terry's health started to fail, prompting the couple to sell his Cadillac.
In 2022, the couple began receiving invoices for toll roads in Miami, hundreds of miles from their Hernando County home. That’s when the couple realized they forgot to remove the license plate from their old vehicle before they sold it.
Milena said she contacted the DMV in 2022, and then in February 2023, she went to one of their offices in person to report the tag as lost.
But, the toll notices and parking violations kept coming, even after Terry passed away in March.
Then, in November, Coral Gables traffic court sent Milena a letter ordering her to appear in court or pay more than $750 in parking tickets. The notice stated nonpayment could result in impoundment of the couple’s other vehicles.
Milena could not get through to the number posted on the violation notices. That's when she emailed ABC Action News.
ABC Action News' Jackie Callaway contacted the Greater Miami Expressway agency for help. GMX notified us in this email.
"...The invoice and citations in question were issued by Florida’s Turnpike and Coral Gables Parking Authority and not by GMZ. Nonetheless, our customer care team took the initiative to submit this case to FTE and Coral Gables Parking Authority for resolution."
Days later, Milena received a call confirming the parking tickets and tolls had been erased from her and her late husband’s records.
It's a good reminder that anytime you sell a car and no longer need the tag, you can dispose of it safely at the DMV.
