ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — After waiting nearly 15 hours for troopers to get to the scene of the crash that totaled their car, one Orange County family is hoping the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) can recruit more staff.

What You Need To Know

  • Drivers involved in a Westwood Boulevard crash Sunday waited overnight for Highway Patrol (FHP) to respond

  • Both parties were told to wait for troopers since a car was totaled, but were not prioritized for response because neither was injured

  • FHP points to staffing as the problem, saying they are “below critical” level and respond to long lists “from crash to crash to crash”

  • RELATED COVERAGE: Mother waits for FHP trooper in totaled car for 15 hours

“I was like ‘Wow! Ain’t that something, that’s crazy! I can’t believe it,” was Katrinna Dailey’s initial reaction to the wait time she endured Sunday night into Monday morning.

Dailey’s vehicle collided with another one on Westwood Boulevard at Grand Horizons Boulevard, not far from Sea World in Orlnado, around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. FHP confirms the first call in to its non-emergency line came at 5:49 p.m.

She was out delivering food for work, trying to earn a little extra living at the time. She ended up waiting and eventually sleeping in her damaged vehicle overnight.

“That’s crazy. I don’t know, I just hope they fix this soon,” she shared her reaction with News 13, when troopers finally arrived just before 9 a.m. Monday. “I don’t ever want to have to go through nothing like this again.”

Dailey applauds fire and EMS services for being quick to the scene to check on everyone involved; however, when she refused transport and assured them she was fine, FHP explains the crash was likely pushed to the bottom of a list of 30 incidents troopers were working at the time.

FHP’s Lt. Tara Crescenzi says they go “from crash to crash to crash,” and that fatal accidents and those with people injured must take priority, and that Dailey was likely told not to leave the scene because her car needed to be towed and that a report would need to be taken down.

Crescenzi calls staffing levels currently “below critical,” as she emphasizes recruiting efforts are underway.

She applauds a pay raise that goes into effect July 1, hoping that will attract more people to work.

In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis held an event to celebrate the changes and sign bills into law.

“We want to show that we support what you’re doing. That, what you’re doing is meaningful and you will be able to get a $5,000 recruitment bonus and I think this is going to be … this is the right thing to do strategically for our state,” DeSantis remarked.

The active incident list overnight Monday into Tuesday morning showed 33 crashes FHP was set to work, at one time.