Only in Florida Strange but true stories

Only in Florida

Strange But True Stories from Across the Sunshine State

In late September, a portion of I-75 in Hernando County was awash in cans of Coors Light. A multi-vehicle crash involving four semi-trucks resulted in thousands of cases of beer spilled across the highway about 30 miles north of Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The truck carrying the beer failed to stop for an accident that had already occurred and collided with another semi that was hauling cement. As a result, concrete and Coors Light covered the roadway, partially blocking traffic for several hours.

Earlier this summer, a man was buried alive when a sand dune collapsed on him while filming a sunrise. Sean Nagel, 35, died as a result of the tragic accident. On a Monday morning in August, Nagel’s body was found on Rock Beach on Hutchison Island. A passerby spotted a portion of his body sticking out of the sand and called for help. Emergency services arrived but not in time to save Nagel, says the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. “It appears that the man died hours earlier from asphyxia as a result of being trapped underneath the sand,” a spokesperson said. A would-be carjacker got more than he hoped during a September visit to a Fort Walton Beach Chick-fil-A. William Branch was armed with a stick when he attempted to steal the car of a woman in the restaurant’s parking lot. Branch, 43, didn’t anticipate that Chick-fil-A staffer Mikel Gordon stepping in to stop the crime, placing Branch in an MMA-style headlock. When released, Branch ran away from the scene, only to be apprehended by Okaloosa County Sheriff’s officers. He was arrested and charged with carjacking with a weapon and battery.

In October, a couple was filmed torturing a kitten in the surf of a Sunny Isles Beach. The pair were seen tossing the helpless feline into the air and watching it splash down in shoulder-deep water. Onlookers approached the couple, John Laguerre and Jamarria Wayne, and asked them to stop. They said they would—for $1,000. Police responded and arrested the two, both of whom resisted. Wayne was charged with felony battery, attempted battery on a police officer. Laguerre was charged with resisting arresting arrest and animal cruelty. Fortunately, the kitten survived and was subsequently adopted by one of its rescuers. u