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Published on Friday, August 1, 2003
in the Orlando Sentinel

Sheriff: We do what we can at crash sites

Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary on Thursday defended his department's role in handling traffic accidents, saying it takes a lead in preventing them but has neither the money nor manpower to investigate them.

Beary responded to a story in Thursday's Orlando Sentinel that reported the Florida Highway Patrol is overwhelmed in investigating more than 40,000 accidents a year in Orange County, often leading to long delays at crash sites.

Though Beary said he and his deputies help at crash scenes whenever they can, his department is one of the few sheriff's offices in the state that does not investigate traffic accidents or write reports.

That means the Highway Patrol must investigate all car crashes outside city limits, even those in parking lots and residential neighborhoods.

Beary said he and his 1,400 deputies help reduce traffic accidents by enforcing traffic laws, and with numerous countywide programs such as patrolling school zones and teaching street safety to children. But he said deputies are too busy with criminal cases to handle accident investigations.

A special traffic unit would cost $4 million to $5 million and require 50 deputies, he said.

"I'm in a delicate balance right here. My calls for service have only gone up 1 percent. Crime is down. My response times are in good shape. But if you add another thing to it, it's going to throw it out of kilter," Beary said.

Beary said the answer lies with getting more troopers for the Highway Patrol locally.

That point was a major theme for a broad gathering Thursday of law-enforcement, fire, rescue and highway officials and others from Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.

Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards called the meeting to begin finding ways to speed up accident management.

No one at the summit openly called for Beary's office to investigate crashes. But many called for more help for FHP, which has just 48 troopers to patrol Orange County.

Orange County Fire and Rescue Chief Carl Plaugher said his firefighters and rescue workers usually get to bad crashes first. But once they finish their work, they often are stuck waiting -- often with long delays -- for the Highway Patrol to arrive and take over.

"I'm not throwing rocks at the highway patrol. They're out there working real hard. They're just understaffed," said Plaugher, who urged those gathered to push for more troopers to be assigned locally.

"From our perspective, we just need law enforcement to show up, whether it's Orange County, Orlando police or the Highway Patrol," Plaugher said.

Among other recommendations at the summit:

• The participants will launch a public-awareness campaign to be run by MetroPlan Orlando, the region's transportation-planning agency. They want to alert drivers that they must move crashed vehicles out of the roadway whenever possible, if there are no serious injuries or deaths.
• The Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida sought support for law changes that would require tow-truck drivers to receive training and be licensed, then to open up towing to all licensed companies. Executive Director Mike Seamon urged that wreckers should be dispatched immediately, rather than after crash scene investigations are nearly done.
• Communication should be improved among all law enforcement, fire and rescue agencies. Some said they are often dispatched to sites needlessly, tying up equipment and often, tying up lanes.
• Next, Edwards and the Florida Department of Transportation will try to enlist local agencies to sign "Open Roads" agreements similar to one the department and the Highway Patrol signed last year, committing to quick accident clearances as a priority. They also hope agencies will join an accident-management group the department has formed to continue discussions.