CENTRAL FLORIDA — Tracy Prestridge's father, Harold Nolder, was a Vietnam veteran. And at 70 years old, she believed he was suffering from an altered mental status, though he had not been formally diagnosed with dementia. She's certain he wasn't getting the care he needed.
"The time was coming where he wouldn't have been able to driver," Prestridge told Investigative Reporter Daralene Jones.
Last May, he was driving on North Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna Beach around 10:30 a.m. Body camera video shows that when emergency responders found Nolder he had crashed his Honda SUV into a utility pole. He died at the scene, suffering from a closed left femur fracture and skin tears on his upper and lower extremities.
Tracy said she believes a medical episode caused the crash. "He had some mini strokes, had some memory issues and that's why I took over his finances," Prestridge said, as she fought back tears in a library not far from the crash scene. "He shouldn't have been driving at all. And sometimes I wonder should I have taken his keys."
Contact Investigative reporter Daralene Jones
More body camera video 9 Investigates obtained shows a dramatic rescue of a driver and passenger when their vehicle crashed into a retention pond on a busy State Road 50 in Ocoee this summer. An Ocoee Police officer can be heard on camera saying, "I think what happened is he had a medical issue, and just went off the road." They both survived and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Right now there are potentially thousands of people on the road with you because they are not fit to drive due to a medical condition. The state has a process to keep these drivers off the road -- but for years, there have been delays in reviewing cases.
A cursory review of our Eyewitness News archives system shows at least a dozen crashes caused by drivers suffering a medical condition while behind the wheel in 2018 alone.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles told 9 Investigates in the fiscal year that ended this June, there were 39,066 drivers waiting to find out if their license would be revoked by a state board that includes doctors. The numbers change daily, depending on how many cases are reviewed.
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If Tracy's father would have lived, state troopers likely would've flagged the crash report and sent a medical reporting form to the state. It flags drivers who have medical episodes and may need to be re-examined once or even every few months because of medical issues like dementia and epileptic seizures.
Dr. Ira Goodman, based in Orlando, is on the 13-member board that decides whose license to revoke. He told us some states require doctors to report patients they suspect shouldn't be on the road. Florida is not one of those states.
"It's very critical because the last thing we want is someone on the road who shouldn't be driving from a medical stand point. Driving is a privilege, not a right," Goodman said.
Goodman explained some of the medical conditions typically causing someone's license to be revoked: "Dementia, Parkinson's Disease. But other things like fainting, unless you find the cause of fainting, (that) person shouldn't be on the road," Dr. Goodman said.
But not all cases make it to the board. When the DHSMV receives notification from a court, doctor, law enforcement, another state agency, or a concerned relative or citizen, a decision is made whether to initiate a review of the driver. If a review is necessary, the driver is notified in writing that they are under medical review and are required to provide medical information from their physician within 45 days. The medical report form is reviewed by the Medical Advisory Board and, within 60 days, a recommendation is made to DHSMV. The driver is notified in writing of the outcome. And state law requires that the revocation be postdated 20 days from the date it is mailed. The timing for each review is based on the individual case.
This inspector general audit released this year reveals ongoing issues with the DHSMV process. Problems first surfaced in this 2013 audit. An incapable driver allowed to keep their license more than a year. Another more than 11 months even though they failed to perform follow up exams. And during the time of that audit about 70,000 similar medical cases were waiting for review.
Since January 2018, DHSMV officials tell us an additional Medical Trainer was added to the medical review team to ensure consistency in case processing and assist with tracking and monitoring of cases. "That's lot of cases, not fair to the patient and not fair to the public either because when they wait, a lot of people, some people, they shouldn't, but may start driving anyway. Jones asked how difficult it is to manage the workload. " I think they probably should increase the board," Dr. Goodman said.
A spokesperson for the DHSMV told 9 Investigates the department recently received approval from the Florida Cabinet to update its rules, which revises the administrative hearing process after a driver license has been denied or revoked for medical reasons. The Hearing Officer model will be replaced with a panel model to provide additional expertise to resolve issues that may be raised at a hearing. This process is more transparent and is better described so that the public will know what to expect as part of a review. The revised rule took effect in July of this year.
When the drivers are allowed to legally stay on the road, there is a potential of putting other drivers at risk. Angel Cruz and his wife were driving from Deltona when they spotted a driver weaving in and out of traffic. "When I first seen it I thought he may have had a flat tire, and was pulling off into the grass. A few seconds letter I saw water flying in the air," Cruz said.
He immediately pulled over and jumped into the pond.
"I looked into the driver's window and didn't see any movement. Didn't second guess, took my shoes off to go after him. He was flopped over into the passenger's seat and he was shaking," Cruz said. State Troopers referred the case for a medical review.
The state denied our interview request, but tell us through e-mail oversight and accountability are improving and that Medical Review Board has considered 12,000 cases since October of last year. Of that, 2,000 drivers had had their license revoked, possibly preventing another family from experiencing unexpected grief.
"The earth was better with him on it, and I miss him and I wish and I hope everyone can have a few moments more with their family members," Prestridge said.
Contact Investigative reporter Daralene Jones
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