Pay for parking and get towed in Texas

Dozens, maybe even hundreds, of visitors to the fair, many from out of town who had come to see the big Texas-OU showdown, had their vehicles towed after parking in what they thought were legitimate parking areas.

They told reporter Stella Chavez and me that they each paid $10 to park in various lots outside the fairgrounds. And then they had to pay $200 to a local towing company, Lone Star Auto Services, to get their cars back.

People wearing orange vests and waving flags directed motorists to park in a lot off Haskell Avenue near Exposition, said Rachael Escamilla. But when she walked back to her car around 10 p.m., it was gone. Someone from a nearby business told her it had been towed. She said it then took her and her mother 45 minutes to walk to Lone Star's impound lot.

"There were tons of cars there," Ms. Escamilla said of where she parked her car. "They were flagging us in. It looked legit."

All of those we spoke with said the same thing: they were waved into the lots just like any other special event parking. They didn't see any "No Parking" signs. But when they returned hours later, large "No Parking" signs were placed prominently in the lots. And the lots -- once full with cars -- were left empty. More.

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