Corvette driver taught a lesson for taking up two parking spots

Toni Yates Image
Thursday, September 25, 2014
New Corvette owner gets lesson in parking
Toni Yates has the report

CLIFTON -- If you have a brand new car you want to do everything possible to make sure someone doesn't ding it.

So for the owner of a new Corvette, that meant using not one but two parking spots for his brand new baby.

However, the driver of a Jeep didn't like that so much so he did exactly what the owner of the corvette didn't want; he parked right next to the corvette nice and tight.

What happened next was caught on camera.

"I was actually stuck in traffic," said Kyle DeMattia, a Clifton resident.

And all Kyle DeMattia wanted was a meal at the Red Robin.

He pulled into the nearly full parking lot and spotted a corvette purposely taking two parking spaces up front.

"I was like, come on man, are you serious, three spots from the door. So we pulled up, jumped out, we got people walking by laughing, having a good time," DeMattia said.

And then, he took a table next to the window to watch the corvette owner's reaction.

"He was shocked to see the big muddy Jeep next to his shiny Corvette. You see him looking for dings. For anybody with a sports car, you should park away from the entrance," DeMattia said.

We can't say for sure that's what these drivers did, but Eyewitness News spotted a BMW, parked away from other cars and a Porsche all alone in its own corner.

Robert Mandel's 2014 Corvette gets that kind of treatment.

"I'll go to the next town to stay away from the lunatics," Mandel said.

Eyewitness News showed the certified Corvette fanatic, who has owned 14 of them, how his fellow Corvette owner parked.

"That's not good. Got to play by the rules. No problem, they stay away from you," Mandel said.

But there's some sympathy for the Corvette guy too.

"I see a lot of people take two spaces to protect their investment, their car, but to pull up next to him on the curb, that's outrageous," said Brad DiNardo, a Clifton resident.

Brad loves his truck, but would he park like that?

"No, I don't. Not in the middle of two spaces like that. I wouldn't do that cause it inconsiderate to," DiNardo said.

"I hope it proved a point really and people got a kick out of it," DeMattia said.

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