An elderly, disabled woman wrapped in a blanket was found safe yesterday afternoon in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee after it was towed about half a mile from a downtown curb to a city impound lot because of a parking violation, police said.
The driver of the Jeep - identified by police as Diahann Russell of Columbia - told an officer she had parked about 3 p.m. in the first block of S. Calvert St. to visit a lawyer's office, leaving her passenger in the vehicle.
The downtown section of Calvert Street is part of a tow-away zone after 3 p.m.
Police did not know the name of the passenger - described as 75 to 80 years old - or her relation to the driver, who could not be reached for comment last night.
When the Jeep was towed at 3:15 p.m., the driver for Jim Elliott's Towing Service did not know a person was in the back because of the tinted windows, said police Lt. Paul Sheppard.
After learning her vehicle had been towed, Russell called the city's Fallsway Impound Lot where an attendant peered through the front windshield of the locked vehicle to see if the passenger was inside, she told police.
The attendant reported the woman was inside and waited for Russell to arrive.
Sheppard said Russell was allowed to take her vehicle without paying the tow and ticket fee, which would have been about $200.
