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Hernando deputies investigating after man collapses and dies following fight at friend’s home

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HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a physical altercation left one man dead over the weekend.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a residence on Galloway Road in Weeki Wachee around 6:41 p.m. Sunday for reports of an “unresponsive male laying in the driveway.”

Callers told 911 operators that the unresponsive man had just been involved in a physical altercation with another man. After the fight, the second man left the scene.

When first responders arrived, fire rescue personnel immediately began administering life-saving measures to the man. He was then taken to Oak Hill Hospital, where he later died.

Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the two men who had fought and two other men who were witnesses to the altercation were friends and had been for “many years.”

According to the sheriff’s office, both witnesses told detectives that they, along with their friend, were sitting in chairs in the driveway at one of the witnesses’ homes, talking and enjoying the evening when the second man, who was walking his dog, approached the men in the driveway and began talking to them.

Deputies said the witness’s friend also had his dog with him. As the group of men began talking with the second man, his dog began interacting with the other dog.

Authorities said that during this time, the second man “nudged” the other dog away from his dog several times by using his foot. That’s when the witness’s friend asked the man to stop nudging his dog. However, he didn’t listen and nudged the dog again.

After that, the man proceeded to get out of his chair, leading the two men to engage in a physical altercation. The sheriff’s office said the altercation only lasted a few minutes, and the two men stopped fighting.

Following the fight, the homeowner asked the second man to leave the property, which he did. Deputies said the man returned to his residence nearby.

Officials said that over the next several minutes, the man, who was still with his friends, began to experience symptoms of a “cardiac event” and collapsed in the driveway before being driven to the hospital.

An autopsy was performed on the man. According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation remains active and the cause of death is pending.

At this time, there is no other information on the incident.

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