News magnet

By Laura C. Morel
Crime/Immigration Reporter

Friday was a wet, cold night. I was doing a ridealong with a Manatee County Sheriff's Office sergeant.

We were heading down a rain-slicked 14th Street West when we spotted two cars and a tow truck stopped at the light on 49th Avenue West.

I kept a few steps back as the sergeant got to work. As I walked closer, I saw a small man face down on the pavement. The sergeant held onto the man's neck to keep it in place and feel his pulse.

Witnesses said the man was kicked out of the Hooters restaurant on the corner and wandered into oncoming traffic. He was struck by the tow truck.

Moments later, an ambulance arrived and paramedics placed the man in a stretcher, carried him into the back, and bolted to Blake Medical Center.

With notepad in hand, I jotted down all the details and called Richard Dymond, our night cops reporter, to read him the information for the website.

As a reporter, I spend every day chasing the news.

But on Friday night, I guess it found me.