Man's Trick to Save Stranger's Car From Getting a Ticket Viewed by 97M
Jay Hami, 27, stopping a ticket officer handing out a parking fine to someone on Hami's road. Hami doesn't know the owner of the car personally but he was glad to help a neigbor out.
Internet users have lauded a New Yorker who prevented a total stranger from getting a parking ticket, in a video that has already received over 97 million views.
The clip was posted by Jay Hami, 27, on TikTok (@ishootrealestate). It showed the moment he ran over to the parked car and told the ticket officer it was his own, and that he would move it swiftly. This was enough for the warden to walk away without writing out a ticket.
Hami was certainly pleased with himself after doing such a good deed for the day. He told Newsweek that he "felt really happy" to have helped someone out on his street in Brooklyn.
Since the video of him "saving a stranger" from receiving a fine was shared on TikTok on May 8, it has already been viewed over 97.3 million times and gained more than 11.7 million likes at the time of writing.
Hami said: "I moved my car because of street sweeping at the time, and as I was walking back to my apartment, I saw the car that looked like it was about to get a ticket.
"I knew it would affect the owner if they got one, so I rushed to the ticket officer and told him that it was my car, and he moved on to the next cars."
After telling the ticket officer that it was in fact his car and he would move it, Hami stood beside it for a few moments until he was sure that the man had gone.
There are certain times when parked cars need to be moved to allow for street cleaning, and failure to do so can lead to a fine of between $40 and $65, according to the New York City Department of Finance.
Hami said that he didn't know the owner of the car personally, but he knew it was someone who lived on his street. As soon as he spotted what was about to happen, he was more than happy to step in and prevent an almost-certain parking ticket.
Since sharing the video on TikTok, Hami has been astounded by the positive response it gained online, and he has continued to update his followers. In a follow-up clip on May 11, Hami said that the car was still there a day later and didn't even have a tire. By May 14, he finally met with the owner of the car who thanked him for rescuing him from getting a ticket.
"I didn't know him personally at the time, but I was happy to help him. I still can't believe that the video has over 97 million views on social media," Hami told Newsweek.
In just a matter of days, the viral video has received more than 21,900 comments on TikTok. Plenty of social-media users praised Hami for his kind gesture to help a stranger out.
One comment reads: "This is such a beautiful random act of kindness."
Another TikTok user wrote: "It costs nothing to be kind."
A third person added: "A hero walks among us."
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