A dimwit driver who left an unattended rental car at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday, causing the delay of about 300 flights and cancellation of dozens of others, is facing nothing more than a measly traffic ticket.
Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson told the Arizona Republic that the man — who was not identified because he was not charged — is on the hook for a $56 ticket after the early Sunday incident that led to the evacuation and hours-long closure of Terminal 4, impacting thousands of travelers from several airlines, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and British Airways.
It’s unclear whether the man will also have to pay for damage to the four-door silver Nissan he rented or fees to get the vehicle towed, Thompson said.
A bomb squad and a bomb-defusing robot spent four hours investigating the car to determine whether it was left behind by a traveler accidentally or if it was abandoned as part of an attempted attack. The car had been idling for at least 25 minutes before police called a towing company to come pick it up, one witness told the Arizona Republic.
Airport officials warned travelers on Twitter to expect delays as the vehicle was being investigated, telling them to “avoid coming to the airport” until further notice. About two hours later, the terminal was reopened.
Ryan Hintze, who had a layover in Phoenix en route to Tampa, had some harsh words for the unidentified “inconsiderate” traveler.
“I hope the idiot who left the rental car gets tracked down and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Hintze wrote in a direct message to the newspaper.
The owner of the towing company that responded to the incident, Richard Polanco of Alliance Towing, said the driver of the car was still talking with police as he hooked the vehicle up to his tow truck. The man told his girlfriend that he had been detained and questioned by police for several hours, Polanco said.
“He was just bummed out that something so small — an idiotic mistake he made — turned into such a big deal,” Polanco told the newspaper.
A ticket for leaving an unattended vehicle in a parking zone in Phoenix, by contrast, is punishable by a roughly $134 fine, according to a municipal website.
Other travelers, meanwhile, said the man’s boneheaded move forced them to stay in Phoenix overnight after missing their return flight to Florida.
“There’s nothing I can do about it and I’m just happy that it wasn’t a bomb,” Chris Gaastra told the newspaper. “Sad the person was that stupid.”
Source: Read Full Article