
Formula 1 fans stranded, their vehicles towed after paying group to park near Hard Rock Stadium for Miami Grand Prix
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.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Cops beat, tase man having diabetic emergency when he can't respond, NC suit says
Three officers are accused of beating, tasing and arresting a man who couldn't speak or respond to their commands because he was in diabetic shock, according to a North Carolina lawsuit. Now, the man is suing the officers with the Spruce Pine Police Department, the police chief and the town itself, saying the officers violated his civil rights by using excessive force and failed to provide aid during a medical emergency, according to the federal lawsuit filed June 5. The man says he was a law enforcement officer himself and worked as a K-9 officer for the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. McClatchy News reached out to the defendants named in the filing for comment June 10 but did not immediately receive a response. Arrest during a medical emergency The man, who had been living with diabetes since he was 9 years old, was driving home from seeing his now-wife on Feb. 16, 2024, when he noticed his blood sugar levels dropping, according to the lawsuit. He stopped at a Walmart to get some food, then he wandered around the store before returning to the parking lot, where he sat in his car for over 30 minutes in diabetic shock, the lawsuit says. A Walmart employee came over to the car and asked if he had a pickup order, but he struggled to communicate, so the worker left and alerted a supervisor, who came out and noted the driver was 'twitching' and 'unable to speak,' according to the filing. They asked him to move his car out of the pickup area, but he couldn't, the lawsuit says. The employees called the police for a welfare check, and two Spruce Pine officers arrived and tried to speak with him as well, according to the filing. He couldn't communicate or show his identification as requested, then a third officer arrived and told him to get out of the car because he was under arrest for trespassing, according to the filing. The lawsuit says the officers should have recognized the man was having a medical emergency and provided assistance, but instead, the filing accuses them of opening the car door and pulling him out. In a 'three-on-one assault,' the officers 'threw him to the ground' and told him to put his hands behind his back, which he couldn't do, according to the filing. One of the officers is accused of hitting him at least 11 times while the man was on the ground, then a second officer used his Taser twice to 'drive stun' him, which is a technique sometimes used to make an arrestee comply, according to the lawsuit. The officers handcuffed him and searched his vehicle, but found no evidence of drugs, alcohol or weapons, the filing says. One officer eventually gave him food and a soda, helping him recover from the episode, then he was released from custody and went to a hospital, according to the lawsuit. 'It is well-settled law, policy, custom and tradition that police officers do not brutally beat and humiliate someone in medical distress,' the filing says. Legal fallout The man said the incident left him with lasting trauma and nightmares, as well as damage to his reputation, until the charges were dropped eight months later. According to the lawsuit, the man's employer, the Department of Adult Correction, conducted an internal affairs investigation as a result of his arrest. He said the incident also landed him in a law enforcement database that prevented him from being hired for a position at another sheriff's office. He is suing the officers on accusations of excessive force, failure to render medical aid, gross negligence, false arrest, malicious prosecution, battery and libel. The lawsuit also accuses the police chief and the town of Spruce Pine of failing to have adequate policy and training on use of force, Taser use and rendering medical aid. The District Attorney for the 35th Prosecutorial District declined to press charges against the officers following an investigation, WLOS reported. 'While, with the benefit of hindsight, the failure to involve medical personnel to evaluate (the man's) condition on scene given his apparent symptoms is cause for concern, that omission does not rise to the level of a violation of the criminal law,' District Attorney Seth Banks said, according to WKYK. The man is seeking punitive damages. Spruce Pine is a 50-mile drive northeast from Asheville.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian Grand Prix to run on the same day as the Indianapolis 500 in 2026
The Canadian Grand Prix will be held at the same time as the Indianapolis 500 in 2026. (Photo by Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) The days of the Monaco Grand Prix preceding the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend are gone. At least for now. Formula 1 released its 2026 schedule on Tuesday and it includes the series going head-to-head with the Indianapolis 500. The Monaco Grand Prix has moved back to June and will take place on June 7. In its place is the Canadian Grand Prix, which will be held on May 24. Advertisement This year's Canadian Grand Prix is set to be held on Sunday and has traditionally been held in mid-June. But next year's date swap is being made for travel-related reasons. Monaco will be the first race of the season in Europe. By moving the Canadian Grand Prix up and Monaco back, F1 will have nine straight European races. Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix is set to start at 2 p.m. ET for a primetime start in Europe. Assuming the race keeps that start time, it will overlap with the end of the Indy 500. The Indy 500 was scheduled to go green at 12:45 p.m. ET this year but was delayed for rain showers. The Monaco Grand Prix hasn't been held on Memorial Day weekend every year of its existence, but its absence from the same day of the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 will be a stark change for race fans who have become accustomed to watching all three events in the same day. The ninth and final European race of the year will also be a new race on the calendar. F1 will host a second race in Spain on a street circuit in Madrid on Sept. 13. That race replaces Imola on the calendar. Imola has held a spring Grand Prix in recent years, but is being dropped for 2026 and beyond. Advertisement The 2026 season begins again in Australia before races in China and Japan ahead of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The Miami Grand Prix will be on May 3, while the United States Grand Prix in Austin will be on Oct. 25 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be on Nov. 21. The Vegas race will again be followed by races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to close the season. 2026 Formula 1 schedule March 8: Australian Grand Prix March 15: Chinese Grand Prix March 29: Japanese Grand Prix April 12: Bahrain Grand Prix April 19: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix May 3: Miami Grand Prix May 24: Canadian Grand Prix June 7: Monaco Grand Prix June 14: Spanish Grand Prix Advertisement June 28: Austrian Grand Prix July 5: British Grand Prix July 19: Belgian Grand Prix July 26: Hungarian Grand Prix Aug. 23: Dutch Grand Prix Sept. 6: Italian Grand Prix Sept. 13: Madrid Grand Prix Sept. 27: Azerbaijan Grand Prix Oct. 11: Singapore Grand Prix Oct. 25: United States Grand Prix Nov. 1: Mexico Grand Prix Nov. 8: São Paulo Grand Prix Nov. 21: Las Vegas Grand Prix Nov. 29: Qatar Grand Prix Dec. 6: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
New retail theft task force makes first arrest in Ohio
(WKBN) – A new task force in Ohio aimed at cutting down organized retail theft made its first arrest. Read next: Fugitive of the Week known to be in local area A man and woman from the Toledo area were arrested in May following a tip from a Walmart there about gift card theft. An investigation revealed that the pair bought gift cards with credit card information from a victim in Florida. When they were arrested, police found multiple gift cards and also seized a laptop and several other payment cards. These types of crimes, along with organized groups stealing large amounts of merchandise, are being targeted by the Ohio Regional Retail Crime Task Force through the recently enacted Fight Organized Retail Crime and Empower Law Enforcement Act, which targets theft rings with stiffer criminal penalties. The law creates a new felony offense of organized retail theft, with penalties escalating based on the value of the stolen merchandise. It also enhances penalties for repeat offenders, setting a minimum fourth-degree felony charge for thefts committed by individuals who have a felony theft conviction within the previous three years. Attorney General Dave Yost says Ohio businesses lose upwards of $2 to $3 billion annually in organized retail theft. The task force works with law enforcement statewide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.