MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 71-year-old Ocklawaha man was killed Monday in a hit-and-run crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers said the man’s body was found just before 10 p.m. along County Road 25.

According to a crash report, the man was “lying down within the eastbound lane” when a car hit him.

The FHP is trying to locate the vehicle and driver.

Anyone with information is asked to call 352-512-6644.

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WICHITA, Kan. (WIBW) – KU men’s basketball alumni team Mass Street defeated Florida TNT in the second round of The Basketball Tournament on Monday night at Koch Arena.

The ‘Hawks took it 76-59.

The Jayhawks are now headed to the third round, where they’ll face Colorado’s alumni team on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

Find the full bracket of TBT here: https://thetournament.com/tbt/bracket/

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CEDAR KEY, Fla. (WCJB) – Many North Central Florida residents have taken to social media to share their shark encounters both on the Gulf Coast and in the Atlantic Ocean.

While there have always been reported shark incidents at Florida, 2024 has seemed to have an increase. In 2023, the state of Florida had 16 confirmed shark attacks. This year, there have been more than 10 cases so far.

Florida is known as a vacation hub with many tourists, and residents alike, participating in water activities from the beach to rivers.

At Cedar Key, University of Florida wildlife expert Mike Allen spoke on the increase in shark encounters during this summer. Allen said beachgoers are not the only ones heading to the coast, “the summertime is when the sharks are in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They migrate south in the winter. So that’s also where they overlap [with swimmers].”

This migration is not just for this summer, each summer there is always a higher likelihood of a shark interaction when more people are in the water.

It is not only the sharks migration along the coast, but the exact environments people are swimming around. At Cedar Key, swimmers may see a shark due to the draw of the estuarine environment to wildlife. Allen commented, “this is a very productive estuary that has a lot of food resources for sharks,” so it is common to see them while beachgoers flood the beach.

Allen spoke beyond the change in beachgoers habits, to speak on how local legislation and climate change are impacting shark interaction dynamics.

He credits conservation efforts in helping increase shark abundance, saying “both recreational, commercial restrictions on harvest, the reduction in shark finning practices, those kinds of things have all contributed to increases in shark populations.”

Along with human impact through legislation, climate change is also said to play a role. Allen explained how climate exchange impacts species distribution, which changes how often humans are interacting with these animals. He said, “we’re seeing lots of more tropical fish species that are moving north in the Gulf of Mexico in response to climate change, and sharks are no exception.”

While beachgoers across North Central Florida may be concerned with an increase of shark interactions over the social media pages,

However, Allen tells everyone of shark’s importance in the state’s ecosystem, as they help keep the oceanic food web balanced and healthy.

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