BATON ROUGE - A TikTok post about a squatted F-150 and the ordeal it's gone through has gone viral. The truck was towed and damaged in the process, then somehow ended up at an auction house.

It all started in the early morning hours of June 14. Savione Ketchens was driving home when a Baton Rouge Police officer pulled him over for underglow lights and a squatted truck. 

"He was saying how he has to tow it, he can't just give me a ticket," said Ketchens. 

The officer wrote him a ticket and called Roadrunner Towing. Ketchens showcases his truck often on TikTok and filmed BRPD and the towing company doing their jobs. The post has now gone viral. Ketchens was following the tow truck to pay for the tow and get his truck back when the wheels rolled off the lift, causing damage.

"We just heard a loud bang!" he said. "I started looking at the truck I'm seeing this is messed up, that's messed up, I'm like this is no good."

In the days following, Ketchens' mom, Tameka Dumas, worked to get the situation addressed at Roadrunner Towing.

"He assured us they would take care of the damages, we wouldn't be charged storage fees," said Dumas.

They'd only be charged for the tow. Given that agreement, the F-150 was left at Roadrunner Towing waiting for the damage to be assessed. On June 25, Dumas and her son delivered an estimate to the tow company, and on the same day, they learned the truck was being towed to Oak View Auto Auction. 

When a vehicle is impounded, the company obtains an Official Record of Stored Vehicle through the Office of Motor Vehicles to identify the registered owner and lien holder. As required by law, Roadrunner Towing sent certified notices to both the registered owner and the lien holder to notify all parties of the impound and provide instructions for retrieval. 

In this case, the lien holder, Baton Rouge Telco FCU, saw that there was no action on the truck in nine days and they had the right to pick it up, even though Dumas had been in contact with Roadrunner Towing throughout the process. Baton Rouge Telco tells 2 On Your Side it removed the vehicle to protect them from accruing storage fees, unknowing that Dumas had already negotiated those fees to be waived. 

In the Affidavit of Hold Harmless and the Affidavit of Abandonment or Repossession signed by Baton Rouge Telco, it says the debtor has abandoned the vehicle and they wishes to liquidate said vehicle and credit the proceeds of the sale to the loan balance. Baton Rouge Telco hired a tow company to bring the truck to the auction lot. Roadrunner Towing released the truck after Baton Rouge Telco arrived with the proper documentation.

When Dumas learned the car was on its way to the auction, she went over there.

"Fortunately I was able to come and pay the fees so it wouldn't be auctioned off," said Dumas.

Those fees were $932. It's something that could have been avoided if all parties had communicated. Even so, Dumas and Ketchens hope to have the truck repaired soon.

"Just fix what you broke," said Dumas.

Roadrunner Towing says they intend to cover the cost of damages.

Oak View Auto Auction says it wouldn't have auctioned off the vehicle immediately. They'd hold onto it until they receive further instruction.

The F-150 will need to be towed again to a repair shop. Ketchens plans to file a claim through insurance and go from there.