Heather Carbaugh wasn’t hurt in an accident where her car fishtailed into the woods on Delaney Road in Dumfries.

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But six days after the accident, her 2002 VW Golf sits in an impound lot. She can’t get it out – but she says it shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“I'm very angry, very angry, because I'm getting nowhere,” she said. “I want my car back!”

She was on the phone with roadside assistance after the accident. But the police officer at the scene was impatient, she said, and called the police’s own towing service.

“Why would you need to call a tow truck when my roadside service is already handling this?” she asked. “They're already dispatching one tow truck.”

Nowell's Towing Service sent two trucks and charged her a total of $400. According to owner Steve Nowell, it was all within legal limits.

Carbaugh can’t pay it. So her car is still in Woodbridge.

Police declined to comment on Carbaugh’s case. But police said, in general, clearing accident sites fast is a safety issue.

“If the car is near the road, we have an obligation to remove that vehicle before we leave the scene.”

Meanwhile, Carbaugh, a single mother who is out of work, has a job interview in Richmond. The only problem is that she doesn't have transportation to get there.