CFHTTP calls hang indefinitely even when timeout is set

I am using CFHTTP to make calls to a REST API. Occasionally, the server that hosts this API crashes due to the calls we are making (this is a server inside our company's enterprise). When that happens, the CFHTTP calls cause the entire ColdFusion request to hang indefinitely, even when defining a timeout on the tag. This hanging continues to use up resources until eventually our server crashes. I need to find a way to protect our server from a failing CFHTTP call. I am at a loss as to what would cause CFHTTP to ignore a timeout attribute and am hoping for some insight here.

Thanks,

Tim.