Several Formula 1 fans found themselves stranded near the Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Friday evening.
They paid to park in a lot across the street, but hours later, they found their cars, trucks and SUVs missing, along with the people who took payment.
“We’re all like, ‘How did our cars get towed?'” said Johnathan Martinez of Hialeah. “Did we just get scammed? Were those people pretending to be that?”
Andres Escobar came from Ecuador with two friends. They rented a car and steered themselves into trouble.
“We came to this list to park and a woman with a [parking company] logo on her shirt told us to pay [$60],” Escobar said.
It seemed legitimate, he said. So Escobar and others paid via Zelle.
Mauro Calzadilla, who carpooled with Martinez, saw the same lot used by customers for other events at the stadium in the past and never heard about problems. Initially, he planned to park in the Walmart lot closer to the stadium.
However, the parking attendant charged $100 per vehicle, Calzadilla said. So he parked near Escobar and the attendant gave drivers receipts to leave on their dashboard.
When F1 fans left the stadium around 5 p.m., people found their parking spaces empty.
“My [truck] got towed,” Calzadilla said. “[It was] not just me. There were literally like eight cars that got towed there easily.”
Martinez and Calzadilla called the number attached to the Zelle account that took payment, the men said. The person who answered blamed a dispute over money with the property’s landlord, Martinez said.
CBS News Miami called the landlord, but no one answered and the voicemail box was full.
“We have like 18 people here who are all stranded because we have no cars,” Martinez said.
The group turned to Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s deputies standing nearby, who suggested people complain to Miami Gardens Police, Calzadilla said.
Some did, yet all felt they had no choice but the find rides to the tow lot and pay to get their rides back.
