Apache server-status

[billbose1]

I am maintaining a intra net site with a few hundred users.
Some time during the day my site becomes unresponsive.
When I do a check on

http://hostname/server-status

I observe that there are more than 1025 calls and most of them are in 'W' state otherwise known as 'sending reply'

Is it possible to 'clear' those 'connections' with the 'W' state on from the apache server without disrupting the other connections.
Also, When i do a netstat those IPs with the 'W' state aren't even there.