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Fight Breaks Out At Vigil For Drowning Victims

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By CHRIS ECHEGARAY

Published: November 9, 2007

Previous: 2 Die In Bradenton When SUV Plows Into Pond

BRADENTON - A fight broke out Thursday night at a candlelight vigil for two men who drowned last week after their vehicle plunged into a pond, the Manatee County Sherriff's Office said.

The crowd went after two women who were passengers in the vehicle and were able to escape last Thursday's accident. The women were asked not to attend the vigil, deputies said.

Johnnie Schoolfield Jr., 25, and Theodore Thomas, 22, veered off the road, crashed through fences and sank into a retention pond at 3000 11th St. Court E. The two women were able to swim and walked away from the crash.

Paramedics arrived but did not go in the water. The department's protocol does not call for paramedics to attempt water rescues because they have not been trained in the appropriate skills.

Their arrival to the vigil angered family and friends, deputies said. Deputies quelled the ruckus. No arrests were made pending an investigation into the fight.

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