Rescue Picks Up Man Near Hospital`s Door in Florida

A man appeared Monday in front of the main entrance of Jackson Memorial Hospital, bullet wounds to the back and buttocks.

He wasn't close enough.

Hospital workers cannot transport patients unless they are literally on the hospital doorstep, so paramedics were called in from a few blocks away to take the victim to the emergency room.

They took him to Ryder Trauma Center -- right around the corner.

''It's weird,'' said hospital spokeswoman Maria Rosa Gonzalez. ''But that's the way the law works.''

The details surrounding the shooting are still hazy.

But according to Miami Fire-Rescue, the man -- whose name and age were not released -- was shot nearby on Northwest 20th Street.

Some friends drove him to the main entrance of Jackson Memorial Hospital off Northwest 12th Avenue and 16th Street.

When security guards came outside, the man was leaning against a car -- still on the street.

A rescue unit from Miami Fire-Rescue Station No. 5, 1200 NW 20th St., was immediately dispatched.

Within minutes, paramedics arrived, bandaged up the man and and put him on a stretcher.

Said Ignatius Carroll, a Miami Fire-Rescue spokesman: ''We put him in the truck and whipped around the corner.''

Distributed by the Associated Press