Immokalee wonders if a local hospital could’ve helped prevent 2 deaths

Reporter: Rodaris Richardson Writer: Rachel Murphy
Published: Updated:

Neighbors in Immokalee are raising concerns about response times to crashes after a man and toddler died after their car plunged into a lake.

The 2-year-old boy and 27-year-old man died after the car they were in sank in the lake.

WINK News asked Florida Highway Patrol if the distance from a hospital played a role in their deaths.

“Both were transported, I don’t have the means of how at this time,” FHP said in a statement. “Part of the investigation will be to obtain EMS/fire records as this tragic incident remains under investigation.”

The community wonders if a closer hospital would have helped this situation.

“They could have saved more lives,” said Alicia Aguayo, speaking in Spanish. She recalls moments when she needed to get to an ER fast, but due to where she lives, getting to an ER “fast” is not possible.

According to a Pew research study, Americans in rural areas live 10.5 miles away from a local hospital on average. Immokalee passes that average: the closest hospital is about 19 miles away.

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