Driver Swerves To Dodge Falling Couch On Highway, Gets Ticketed In Florida

A driver swerved to avoid a couch that fell from a truck on Interstate 95 in Florida. She then got a ticket for “failing to drive in a single lane," according to NBC Miami.

On February 20, Jake Singer and his girlfriend were driving home to Washington following a visit with family in Boca Raton, Florida, he told the Sun Sentinel. When the coach came towards their 2006 Toyota Corolla, the car swerved, struck the median and flipped over, according to reporters. The truck that dropped the couch reportedly kept driving.

Singer and his girlfriend were handing upside down in the vehicle, but a passerby helped them out, reporters said. The couple were taken to the hospital, and their vehicle was left totaled, the newspaper reported.

Then, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper showed up at the hospital with a $166 traffic ticket.

“He gave us a ticket for basically swerving lanes while trying to avoid a couch that was flying at us on the highway,” Singer told reporters. “He seemed nervous to give us this news, which I can understand.”

Lt. Yanko Reyes told Sun Sentinel that drivers are supposed to maintain control of their vehicles on the road, despite the difficult situation for the couple.

“You have to look at the totality of the circumstances,” Reyes said. “Remember, in Florida it is recommended to have at least a two-vehicle length between your vehicle and the vehicles in front of you because that way you have enough time to react in case something like this happens, in case somebody brakes, in case debris falls on the roadway, you’re able to avoid any and all difficulties.”

Singer tried reasoning with the trooper to avoid the ticket but to no avail, reporters wrote.

“But the starting point is that you’re giving us a safe road to drive on, and that’s the sort of contract we have, and I’m pretty sure couches flying in the air breaks the contract, and we have to do whatever to stay alive,’” he said.

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