SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio disabled veteran was left stranded for hours after his vehicle disappeared from the parking lot outside a laundromat he was at on the South Side.
Patrick Winters, 63, a disabled veteran, called KSAT for help after being stranded for a few hours.
“I’m a disabled vet on a walker. I have no way getting home,” he told KSAT while standing outside the store near SE Military Drive and Roosevelt Ave. He reported the car stolen to SAPD but later discovered Bexar Creswell’s Towing had taken his vehicle.
Winters had parked his vehicle in a handicap spot.
“I have stiff person syndrome, which is a very rare autoimmune disease. Winters’ efforts to get an answer from the towing company were fruitless, and KSAT also attempted to no avail.
A possible reason the vehicle was towed is that his plates did not have the “DV” (disabled veteran) letters on it. But a new Texas 2022 law now requires veterans to have a placard or the International Symbol of Access on the plaque for the driver to be able to use a handicap spot.
“There’s no excuse whatsoever to have a disabled veterans vehicle pulled from beneath and leaving him no way to get home,” Winters said.
Winters has still not been able to get his vehicle back. The City of San Antonio’s Disability Access Office provided a possible resource to help him.