SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A man hit an 80-year-old crossing guard in the face and pinched a deputy in the thigh as he was being arrested, according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Crossing guard William Reynolds said he was helping two students cross Wekiva Springs Road near Fox Valley Drive at about 8:22 a.m. Thursday when a man, later identified as 36-year-old William Vindigni, hit him in the chin with his right hand, the arrest report said.
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The impact from the strike caused 80-year-old Reynolds to fall to the ground, according to authorities. The children were not injured.
"I didn’t say a word to him and out of the clear blue he threw a right punch at me. I blocked some of it but he clipped me and I went down," Reynolds said.
Deputies said Vindigni ran away after the attack, but authorities found him at the intersection of Palm Springs Road and Wekiva Springs Road.
Vindigni resisted arrest by running away from authorities and pinching a deputy on the back of her thigh hard enough to leave red marks, according to the report.
Vindigni was charged with battery on a person 65 or older, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Reynolds said after Vindigni's arrest, he went straight back to work.
“My job is to help these kids across the street that’s what I’m here for and that’s what I’m going to do,” Reynolds said.