ORLANDO, Fla. — It was a dramatic rescue caught on Orlando police body camera. “Hey, Orlando police, anyone in the vehicle?” one officer shouted before others rushed into a retention pond.
Orlando police say a car had flown off the State Road 40 E ramp to Interstate 4 and landed in the water. Officers pulled the driver to safety.
The Florida Department of Transportation says that 2023 crash was one of nearly 50 on the same ramp in just two years where speed played a major role. After reviewing the data, FDOT installed a temporary concrete and steel barrier wall on the ramp earlier this year.
Since the barrier went up, crashes have been cut almost in half. There were seven minor crashes in the past six months compared with 13 in the six months before the barrier, which included two injuries.
Plans are now underway to make the barrier permanent. FDOT opened bids for the project this month, expects to award a contract within three months and says construction will take about five months once it begins.
In the meantime, the temporary barrier will stay in place. The ramp also features multiple safety measures aimed at slowing drivers, including signs warning of the curve ahead, advisory speed signs recommending 25 mph, an overhead “caution reduce speed” message board and speed-warning pavement markings.
FDOT says it will continue to monitor the location and assess whether further safety measures are needed after the permanent barrier is built.
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