Yabba-dabba don’t! Illegally parked Flintstones car gets citation

Would the owners of a Flintstones-type car please call the city of Key West? You're parked illegally.

That's the plea city officials put out last week via Facebook after someone finally complained about the foot-powered, four-seater with the barrel-style wheels parked illegally on Emma Street for nearly six months.

Within moments, the city's post had turned into social-media gold and made newscasts across the country.

The Bedrock low-rider — a prop from a past Fantasy Fest — was set to be picked up by the Key West Woman's Club, city code officers said.

"We're not going to let this go to waste," said Carol Callowhill of Summerland Key, a friend of a past owner who drove down Thursday to help get the "car" removed safely. "Not on my watch."

The faux car will be refreshed and used in fundraising events for the Woman's Club, Callowhill said.

Shortly after the city asked for help on Facebook, locals quickly responded that the car had been the property of Just 4 Kids, a Key West children's program.

But when the program's director, Mary Parmley, left Key West for Colorado last winter, she gifted it to a local man who apparently stored it on the street outside the house he was renting at the time and abandoned it when he moved out.

Code Compliance officers red-tagged the car, built by Ronnie Bowman years ago for the Fantasy Fest parade, after a complaint came in.

"Ronnie built it and gave it to us," Parmley said. "Someone stole the Dino off the top."

But Jim Young, the city's code compliance director, didn't want a handmade replica of Fred Flintstone's famed ride getting scooped up like curbside scrap.

"We're not towing it; it’s not a vehicle," Young said. "This is a unique situation."

In fact, the celebrated prop — powered by foot — falls under the city's definition of improperly discarded trash. If someone left a pile of tree branches or garbage bags in the same spot, the city would call Waste Management, which would sweep by with its claw truck.

"We don't want to do that," Young said Thursday while the city was still searching for the owner.

The city's Facebook post inspired many locals and tourists to visit the Flintstones-style car for selfies.

Some even took it for a "joyride" down Duval Street. By Friday morning, it was parked outside a popular gay bar on Duval, code officers said.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 7:11 AM with the headline "Yabba-dabba don’t! Illegally parked Flintstones car gets citation."