One Miller Place driver went home with a handful of fines on Thursday Morning. The woman was originally pulled over for driving with a phony passenger in the HOV Lane at approximately 8:15 AM on Thursday. However, the 61 year old woman ended up with summonses for driving an unregistered and uninspected vehicle as well.
It was a normal Summer commuter morning for for Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Spina. But the morning rush got a bit strange, just after 8 AM. Officer Spina was traveling westbound on the Long Island Expressway, around exit 51, in the left lane when he noticed something suspicious about a front seat passenger in a Subaru Outback, cruising along in the HOV Lane. Upon pulling over the car, he quickly realized that the driver, Candice Breen-Warren, had arranged a pile of clothing, topped with a baseball hat and a briefcase in the passenger seat to resemble a person. She was issued the HOV occupancy violation for driving with a phony passenger and summonses for driving an unregistered and uninspected vehicle.
We’ve come to the conclusion that State Troopers have a sense of humor when it comes to the things that people will do, to drive in the HOV lane. In fact, most public information officers will post photos of the most original HOV lane fails on social media, rating points for originality and creativity. With this recent HOV lane bust in mind, we’ve compiled our top three favorite phony passenger fails for your guilty pleasure.
Our Three Favorite HOV Lane Fails
One man is running late for work, so he uses his daughter’s Go Diego Go doll to ride in the HOV Lane. Reported by The Seattle Times back in December of 2010. Although the man was issued a ticket by a State Trooper, Diego was commended for practicing safe passenger side safety by wearing his seat belt. Way to Go Diego Go!
Points for Halloween originality, goes to the Tacoma Washington driver who tried to sneak his way into the HOV Lane back in October 2015 using a zombie baby doll in his front seat. This photo was originally tweeted, courtesy of Official Washington State Patrol District 1 Public Information Officer for Thurston and Pierce Counties, Trooper T. Bartolac. While the driver was still given a ticket for riding the HOV Lane, he was not penalized for driving with a child in the front seat.
Trooper T. Bartolac may also have the world’s greatest Tweet, “I don’t always violate the HOV lane law…but when I do, I get a $124 ticket!” The Officer sent this out to the twittersphere, when a Fife, Washington driver was caught with a cut-out of the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” guy driving along in the HOV Lane.