D.C. Speeding Ticket Surprises N.H. Man Who Hasn't Visited Since 1961
ROCHESTER, NH (CBS) - An 88-year-old New Hampshire man was given a $100 speeding ticket from Washington, D.C., a place he has not visited in decades.
"When I got the paper in the mail, I couldn't believe it," said Ray Turmelle.
He got a huge surprise on Monday.
"I picked up the mail and opened up that sheet of paper and it says I owe a $100 fine for going over the speed limit in Washington, D.C.," he explained.
The ticket came from an automated system and says he was going 47 in a 35 MPH zone at the beginning of the month.
Ray has only been to D.C. once, when the drum and bugle corps he started marched there in 1961.
"We paraded for Kennedy's inauguration. The only time I've been to Washington, D.C.," he said.
But it's the license plates that make this story really weird.
Ray's plate reads "SUMMIT," and so does the one in the speeding photo, but a closer look showed an American flag on the speeding plate.
Ray's does not have that on his license plate.
"Mine has the old man of the mountain," he says. And the logo on the photo is "H" for Honda. Ray has a Subaru. "It can not be me is right!" Ray said.
After having a good laugh Ray emailed the D.C. authorities sending them photos of his car.
"I sent them a note and said when it comes to auto identification, they missed the class," Ray said.
He was not worried though because he also has an alibi.
"I have nine people that put me at breakfast on Sunday morning when I'm supposed to be in D.C.," he said.
If push came to shove, the Rochester man said he still would not pay.
"Hell no. And it's $200 if I don't pay it so I told them to come over and get it," Ray said.
Ray has had the "SUMMIT" plate for years.
He picked it because he was a mountain climber in his younger days, scaling mountains in Africa, Switzerland and Peru.
We contacted the D.C. Department of Transportation. No response as of this writing.