A police tow truck removed a minivan parked outside a new york city funeral home, giving its dearly departed passenger an unexpected side trip.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says there was "nothing to indicate it was more than just an illegally parked car."

Redden's Funeral Home director Paul DeNigris said a windshield placard had fallen flat. The van's tinted windows helped obscure the white cardboard box that held the remains.

DeNigris says he was "a wreck" after discovering the van missing that day in Manhattan. He rushed to the tow pound, where he discreetly explained the circumstances and got the van back. He also got the body to an airport in time for a scheduled flight to Miami.

He plans to fight the $115 parking ticket.

Source: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com

I don't know all that much about funeral homes other than what I saw portrayed in the made-for-cable TV show "Six Feet Under," but I thought that special license plates were issued to businesses that occasionally had to park in otherwise restricted areas. Somehow a placard in the window doesn't sound like a professional, solution and apparently was not very effective.

I have been in situations where I felt I was treated unfairly and received that age-old excuse, "Just doing my job, ma'am." So I can easily imagine being in New York City and suddenly discovering that my delivery vehicle, is gone, body and all. Luckily this funeral director was able to keep his wits about him.

It's bad enough that he had to find the vehicle impound and explain the situation, but also racing the clock to make the flight would just make a bad situation all the more harrowing.

I wish him good luck on contesting the ticket, but from my experience it's probably a good idea just to go ahead and pay it. One hardly ever comes out victorious, and it helps one to avoid additional court fees or doing any kind of punitive community service. Unfortunately, the law is the law, and circumstances may leave him dead in the water.

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