Off-Duty Orlando Officer Discharged after Crashing into Toll Plaza

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 18, 2017

On Saturday, just after 6:15 in the morning, officers with the Orlando Police Department responded to reports of a crash and subsequent car fire at the toll plaza on State Road 408, close to Andes Avenue. When officers arrived, they were surprised to find one of their fellow officers already there, in civilian clothing. After a brief investigation, it transpired that the off-duty officer already on the scene was, in fact, the one responsible for the crash.

The report on the situation is remarkably void of specific facts, such as the name of the off-duty police officer who caused the crash or what exactly it is believed might have happened in the cab of their pickup truck to result in such an incident. The Orlando Police Department has issued a preliminary statement indicating that the officer in question was relieved of duty as a direct result of the incident, but the report does not fully explain just what the off-duty member of the Orlando Police Department had done in order to deserve such an unceremonious dismissal.

Witnesses to the crash confirm what the Orlando Police Department’s statement says about the aftermath of the incident. It seems that the crash was so violent that it caused the pickup truck being driven by the officer to burst into flames as well as completely incapacitate the normal operating duties of the toll plaza. While the scene underwent initial investigation, and while the area was cleaned up and the plaza attended to, drivers down State Road 408 were redirected from the toll lanes to the E-Pass lanes. Drivers who did not have an E-Pass were not charged for their inconvenience.

Officers with the Orlando Police Department failed to say whether or not the officer in question or anyone else was injured as a result of the incident, however they did indicate that the toll booth suffered only minor damages and that these damages were relegated primarily to the crash cushions that straddle the lanes directly before they funnel cars into the specific toll areas.

As the investigation progresses it is believed that additional information will emerge relating to this case.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.