Only 1 of 8 ordered to pay fine tonight from speed cam citations

YOUNGSTOWN

Those objecting to civil speeding citations fared well at the initial hearing tonight with the hearing officer letting all but one go without having to pay a fee.

And the lone person who had to pay at the hearing had two citations. Gene Fehr, the hearing officer, dismissed one and reduced the payment on the other from $125 to $25.

But others shouldn’t expect the same treatment, Fehr said.

There were 24 people scheduled to appear at the initial hearing, but only eight showed. Of the rest, nine failed to appear – and will get another letter in the mail to pay the fine - and the remaining seven paid their fees rather than attend the hearing.

“This was more of a warning,” Fehr told The Vindicator after the hearing. “Generally, these are our first appeals” dating to shortly after Aug. 18 when enforcement went into full effect.

Cara Carramusa of Poland admits she was going 70 mph in a 50-mph zone on I-680 n Aug. 26. But she argued that there weren’t enough signs giving motorists the proper warning about the handheld speed cameras.

“It’s such a new process and people didn’t know about it,” she said.

For the complete story, read Thursday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com