ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy is in the hospital after he was hit on his motorcycle on Interstate 95 Tuesday morning.
As of Tuesday evening, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said Deputy Benjamin Stamps is still in serious condition.
Staly said he was fortunate to talk with the deputy at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville after he was hit on his way to work.
He added that the incident serves as an unfortunate, but timely reminder for drivers to pay extra attention on the roads, particularly during Bike Week.
“It was tough seeing him in the hospital," said Staly. "He was in quite a lot of pain. He’s going to take a while to recover.”
Staly said he’s relieved the department isn’t planning a funeral right now.
Stamps was hit on I-95 while riding his motorcycle to work.
Staly said Stamps turned on his lights as traffic started backing up to maneuver around and see what was causing it.
“Somebody, that was probably impatient in the traffic made an abrupt lane change," said Staly. "He tried evasive action, ended up striking the car and was flown of his motorcycle and landed in the road.”
It’s a coincidence that Stamps happened to be on a motorcycle, as the sheriff says Bike Week has drastically increased the amount of bikes on the road through Flagler County.
“Had a driver kept their patience and looked twice, maybe it would’ve avoided this crash," said Staly.
Staly said they have more deputies on the roads for Bike Week and have put out signs across Flagler County to remind drivers to look twice.
He points out that safety isn’t solely on car drivers, and that motorcyclists have to play their part too.
“This biker came up to me that was from Indiana complaining that he got a ticket last night in Daytona for not wearing eye protection while riding a motorcycle. We have a lot of bikers in from all over the country," said Staly. "They need to be aware that laws are different between states.”
After 49 years on the job, Staly still does his own traffic stops, and there’s one thing that goes a long way with him when he does pull a driver over.
“I’ve probably heard every excuse you can hear," said Staly. "You would get further if you’d just own up, take responsibility for your actions.”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says Deputy Stamps did have some serious injuries from the crash, including some to his elbows that required surgery, but he should be out of the hospital in the next few days to go home and make a full recovery.