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Brighton Park Man Was Fed Up With Speed Bump, So He Smashed It To Pieces, And Got A Ticket

CHICAGO (CBS) -- We've all grown frustrated with speed bumps at one time or another, but a Brighton Park man was so fed up with the one behind his house that he removed it piece by piece.

And as CBS 2's Charlie de Mar reported Tuesday night, doing that has gotten the man into a whole bunch of trouble.

Nicolas Benitez said the speed bumps in his alley are too wide and high - so much so they were damaging his car. So he took matters into his own hands, and now there is a pile asphalt  slabs leaning up against his garage.

Benitez got a $500 ticket for digging without a permit, and destroying city property in the process.

But he said he was tired of bottoming his car out on the speed bumps in his alley — and claims the bump was already cracking. So he got to work with a hammer.

He admits to smashing the asphalt over a span of days, and then neatly piling it against his garage. Benitez wants the city to install smaller speed bumps, and he has complained to Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) about the current speed bumps before.

But he apparently got tired of waiting for a solution.

"Throw out the ticket," Benitez said, "because he needs to replace not just this one - he needs to replace the whole area."

Ald. Lopez was alerted to the missing speed bump, and informed Benítez that there was a problem with Benitez's speed bump vigilantism.

Lopez tweeted a picture with a caption reading: "Please don't take matters into your own hands Chicago! This man wasn't happy about a speed bump. It has been in his alley for a decade. He removed it on his own & earned a $500 fine and a court case in the process."

"I'm angry and I'm upset. He came by and he wrote me a ticket, and I asked him why," Benitez said. "It's my fault. I broke the rule. But why don't they pay attention?"

Ald. Lopez said a city Department of Transportation inspector came out and issued the ticket.

Benitez said he plans on fighting the ticket, and will appear for his November court date.

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