Therese Apel

The Clarion-Ledger

It's a strange feeling for a reporter to be on the other side of the news, especially when she may have helped save someone's life.

LaKeadra Coffey, a reporter for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, told The Clarion-Ledger she rarely goes to Magnolia if she doesn't have a story there, usually opting to eat lunch in Summit.

But on Wednesday, she got the urge to go eat chicken and dumplings at a cafe in Magnolia. She headed down the road with Adele playing in the background and took an alternate route.

"Usually I take the interstate. Today, I took Highway 51," she wrote in a Facebook post, explaining that usually the highway is busy during lunch.

As she approached the "Welcome to Magnolia" sign, Coffey saw a dog on a leash on the side of the road and a man laying on the ground next to it. Not sure what she had seen, she turned the car around

"I noticed the dog and I was like, 'Wait, what?' So I turned around and went back. I got out, and as soon as I got out it was almost like the dog nudged him and he rolled over," she said. Having just come upon a scene with someone who had died on Sunday, Coffey was relieved to see the man moving.

She told The Clarion-Ledger and in her Facebook post that his skin was pale, "almost stark white," his eyes were glazed over and his breathing was labored and erratic. The dog also was panting heavily. She asked the man if he was OK, and he said, "No, I'm not OK."

National Weather Service Meteorologist Mark McAllister said the temperature in that area at that time was about 92 degrees. He could not account for how much hotter the pavement would make things.

Coffey asked the man if she could take him to the hospital, and he declined but asked if she could give him a ride to his mother's house. When he and his labrador-type dog got in the car, she learned his name is Dayton, his dog is Smokey and they are from Fernwood.

"He said he watched people go by him, and nobody stopped," she said.

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He said even as he was there, sprawled on the hot concrete barely conscious, he had hope.

"He didn't know how he was going to get help, he just knew," she posted. "I was in the right place, and Dayton and Smokey received help. I was merely the helper. Jesus orchestrated this. To God be the glory."

When they got to Dayton's mother's house, she wasn't there, so Coffey offered to take him to his mother's office. He said they would have to stay in the car if they went there, so he opted to sit on the porch.

"But I prayed before I left, and while I was leaving and after. I don't know why I went to Magnolia today. I don't know why I took 51, but I know I was supposed to pick up Dayton and Smokey," Coffey's Facebook post read. "I stayed in Magnolia long enough for (Dayton's mother) to get back down 51. And I made sure she was home when I went back."

As she thought about it, she compared his situation to her own.

"See, it's the reason he was out that got to me even more. He was picking up cans," she wrote. "He was picking up cans in almost 100 degree weather. Hours beforehand, I was fussing because it was cold in the office. Dayton taught me to be thankful. We're all one horrible moment in life from picking up cans to survive."

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All night Wednesday night, she thought about what could have happened if she wouldn't have stopped. But she's glad she did.

"We are so quick to judge based on color and class. I was never ever taught to see race or class. Ever," she posted. "He said something that stuck out to me. He told his mom, 'No one stopped to pick me up or see about me but her. She was the only one who did, and I don't know her.'"

Coffey admitted she felt a little strange about being on the other side of an interview, but added that she does want people to know that reporters get a bad rap and are humans too.

"It's not my story — it's Dayton's story. I was just blessed Jesus chose little me and my Jeep to be a blessing," she posted. "For that, I'm thankful. Dayton made me more thankful and so much more appreciative."

The Clarion-Ledger has reached out to Dayton and his mother for comment. They have not yet responded.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.