A Massachusetts woman says police stopped her over a registration issue, towed her car and forced her to pay $255 to get it home, causing a scramble to get to her daughter’s basketball game. TikTok creator Leah (@l.e.a.h_m.a.r.i.e) documented the encounter in videos filmed from inside her vehicle.
In the footage, Leah repeatedly told the officer that she had active auto insurance and showed him her policy information. The officer told Leah that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles listed her registration as revoked and said he had to follow the information in the Registry’s system.
Leah argued that having insurance should allow her to continue driving while she corrected the Registry information. She also asked whether the officer could verify her policy or contact a supervisor.
The officer had no choice, he said.
She then told the officer she was trying to get home to fix the problem and needed to get her daughter her basketball shoes. The officer explained that he could not change the Registry’s records from the roadside. He also said he could not allow Leah to drive away while the Registry showed a revoked registration.
Leah maintains that her situation involved an insurance-record problem rather than a lack of insurance. In the caption accompanying her videos, she said an insurance agent offered to manually update the information with the Registry because she was an insured driver.
Leah says she tried to pay her fees on the roadside.
She said the agent told her she could pay any Registry fees online and that she was attempting to do so when the tow truck arrived. But according to Leah’s account, police removed her license plates, including the screws, and towed her vehicle. In a text overlay on one of the videos, she said it cost “$255 to tow my car.”
She further alleged that a police report showed her car was registered and disputed the officer’s characterization of the incident as a traffic violation. Leah said she received three citations and claimed two carried potential criminal consequences while another involved the towing of an allegedly uninsured or unregistered vehicle. Leah later said she obtained new plates and a new registration.
Massachusetts ties vehicle registration to mandatory auto insurance requirements. After receiving notice of a canceled insurance policy, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) says it may suspend or revoke a vehicle’s registration if the owner fails to provide proof of new coverage. The registration remains suspended or revoked until the owner provides proof of insurance.
State law also authorizes the registrar to revoke a vehicle registration when required liability insurance has not been maintained. Leah’s claims have not been independently verified.
Published: Aug 19, 2026 02:58 pm