CLEVELAND (WJW) — A woman tells the FOX 8 I-Team she waited for 40 minutes for police to arrive after a hit-and-run driver rammed her vehicle.
Stefanie Mayausky, a nurse, says she was on her way to work March 5 around 6:30 p.m. when a hit-and-run driver struck her vehicle near the intersection of Opportunity Corridor and Kinsman.
“The whole front part was crashed in and all the air bags came out,” Mayausky said. “Two people witnessed it and stopped to help me. The driver took off and the only thing that was left behind was a wheel and axel. That driver took off on three wheels.”
She said the one witness called 911 right away. About 10 minutes later when police did not arrive she called again.
“About a half hour later my mother and husband arrived,” Mayausky said. “We live more than 30 minutes away but they got there before police.”
Once her mother arrived, she called 911 again asking for help.
“There is no reason for it to take that long for an accident,” said Denise DeFranco, Mayausky’s mother. “I told 911 this is the third call and she asked me if we can drive the car and I said absolutely not it’s totaled. I asked her, where are the police.”
About 40 minutes after the crash, officers arrived.
The I-Team asked city officials about the response time and asked if we could talk to the mayor or director of public safety. We were told no one was available to talk to us. A city spokesperson said the call for the crash was assigned as a code 3. According to police sources, a code 3 means a damage accident with no injuries.
So we asked the spokesperson if city officials believe a 40 minute response time is acceptable for that type of crash. We did not receive a response to that question.\
“It seems like a very long response time to me and I try to be an understanding person,” Mayausky said. She added she did have bruises and other minor injuries. She said she believes the hit-and-run driver may have been located if police arrived sooner.
“I do not blame the officers,” Mayausky stressed. “We need more officers. I don’t think there are enough. I feel there is so much more that could be done city wide. More hiring if possible.”