Florida runner hit by car says it took hours for FHP troopers to respond
ORLANDO, Fla. - A runner who was hit by a car in Orlando tells FOX 35 News that he had to wait hours for law enforcement to respond.
Daryl Willmore was running across the street when he was hit by a car that didn't stop to help at Ramsgate Circle and Scenic Point Blvd. in Orange County. He said thankfully he did not need immediate medical attention but called law enforcement to respond. Willmore said he was hit just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday but that Florida Highway Patrol troopers (FHP) didn't respond until 1 a.m. Friday morning.
"They wouldn’t give me a specific timeframe, except several hours. They said we’ll call you when we have someone en route," said Willmore. "They said if I didn’t need a paramedic it would be several hours."
FHP said there were other calls that had more urgency when he told dispatchers he was not in need of medical attention and the roadway wasn't blocked.
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"It wasn’t put as a high-priority call, the roadway wasn’t blocked, etc. However, we had several interstate crashes, roadblocks, overturned vehicles, and life-threatening injuries we had to address," said FHP Lt. Channing Taylor.
FHP also said there was a delay in responding to a crash on Turkey Lake Rd. Monday because troopers were working on other crashes. Lt. Taylor said the agency is in need of more troopers and having more staff on hand would help eliminate the long wait times.
"We take serious calls first. The life-threatening calls, the ones blocking the road. But, crashes that have no suspect information and have no injuries, unfortunately, those have to wait a little longer," Lt. Taylor said. "If we had 100 people on duty that night we wouldn’t have the wait. Our goal is not to make people wait. We don’t want people to wait. We don’t want them to wait," he said.
Lt. Taylor said they have seen an increase in applicants since the governor announced the "Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program".