Driving in South Florida with his wife on the Marlins’ off day Thursday, catcher Brett Hayes got one of the scares of his life, as a man with a handgun approached his car from the median.
Traffic had stopped because of an incident further up the road. Unbeknownst to Hayes at the time, the man approaching him had already shot and wounded two South Florida law enforcement offices.
''The guy was walking by our car, and I made eye contact with him,’' Hayes said. ''I looked away nonchalantly and told my wife, ‘Don’t look at him,’ because it looked like he was obviously up to no good. Later I found out he had already shot two police officers.’'
An officer carrying a handgun and wearing a bulletproof vest soon passed Hayes’ car in pursuit. A short time later, the gunman killed himself, something Hayes only found out while listening to the radio later.
''The creepy thing about it was that the guy looked like he was walking down the street to go to the supermarket,’' Hayes said. ''He was very nonchalant.
You look back and you’re like, ‘I can’t believe that just happened.’''
