Jun 17, 2008 11:32 pm US/Eastern
Road Rangers Work Reduced Hours Amid Budget Cuts
ClickHere For The List Of Hour Reductions Throughout South Florida.
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
They're a welcome sight about to shrink in the rear view mirror because of state budget cuts: Road rangers. CBS4's Natalia Zea looks at efforts to try and keep road rangers on the roads in Broward 24/7.
When Cesar Cintron began working as a road ranger five and a half years ago, he knew he'd be doing an important job.
"All day long, helping people stranded on the road, you know a lot of them don't have AAA and they count on us," said Cintron.
But he never realized he would actually save lives.
Cintron helped pull a Broward Sheriff's Deputy to safety after a car knocked him over the edge of 595 in July of 2006. He was hanging from the wall.
"Myself and his partner saved his life," said Cintron.
He's just one example of road rangers doing their jobs day in and day out.
They do everything from helping drivers stuck without gas, to clearing debris from accident scenes, to offering help to folks like Jackie Twiggs and her family—their car broke down.
"They came pretty fast to help me, I was impressed," said Twiggs.
But now that the state legislature has slashed half of the road ranger budget. Rangers will have to cut services all over South Florida.
Only half the number of rangers will patrol I-75 and I-95 in Miami-Dade County. The 826 will see a reduction in the hours the rangers patrol. I-75 and I- 95 in Broward will lose the road ranger service altogether on nights and weekends. The Florida Turnpike may also be affected, but managers still aren't sure how severely.
The cuts make Jackie wonder if she'll be on her own the next time she has car trouble.
"I don't think that's a good thing because this could've happened to me at night, and I would've been out here alone, with no help."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Presidential Inauguration 2009
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
