Towing Issues: Towed while out of country, emergency issue, collection efforts

Question
I left town May 8 (Baltimore, MD) suddenly due to the serious illness of my Mother in England.  She did not recover, but we spent a total of 3 weeks out of the country taking care of her affairs.  When we returned, my car, which had been parked outside our house on a public street had been towed by the city due to unscheduled road work.  The city wants $337 to retrieve it from the impound lot.  It's a 2001 Olds in need of major work and I was planning on donating it to charity before this happened.  What would happen if I just didn't claim it?  The city's recorded message says it will "become eligible for auction" on May 29th.  If I didn't claim it, would the outstanding amount (which is increasing by $15 daily) go to collections?  Any advice much appreciated.

Answer
Well I am going to bet that if you did not redeem the vehicle that it would be sold and the city would be attempting any collection efforts it can...

Now as to about the donation of the vehicle, if you donated it to the charity now, they would still have to pay to get it out of impound and for the towing to their place.

I am not sure (have to check with a tax person) but you might be able to pay for the impound and then donate it to charity and maybe write the whole thing off, as that might be an option...

Or you can talk to the city and see what kind of deal you can work out with them given the emergency issue of you leaving and all the other details...

Sorry but I do not have a solid answer for you..