BATON ROUGE - Brent Vaughn has cerebral palsy, but he has defied the odds. These days, Vaughn is independent with the help of a motorized wheelchair and a modified truck. 

The driver's side door opens up like a DeLorean from Back to the Future. The front seat has been removed and replaced with a lift for his chair. His chair locks into place while he's driving.

"This truck gave me life again," Vaughn said.

Because of the modifications to the truck, he needs extra room to get in and out of the vehicle and relies on handicap parking spaces. 

"It's very stressful when I'm going somewhere, I have to take at least a half hour extra to sit in the parking lot and wait for a spot," Vaughn said.

When Vaughn goes to park he needs extra room, including the parking spot for his truck and the blue or yellow striped area for loading and unloading. Frequently, he arrives at a parking spot, and someone has parked in the striped or loading zone area.

"That is not a parking spot," he said.

Vaughn says it's often someone who has a handicapped tag or license plate who doesn't require extra room to maneuver a wheelchair. Vaughn says they should know better.

"It's very surprising, but it happens all the time," he said. "You are prohibiting me from getting in and out of my vehicle."

Vaughn says police are helpful and ticket violators, but it still slows him down.

Fines start at $275 for the first offense. A second offense is $500.