MIAMI — An Oregon man claims he drove across the country to vacation in Miami Beach and met a kindly stranger named Luis at a bar who suggested that instead of sleeping in his car the man stay with a friend at Champlain Towers South in Surfside. They went to the condo and after just one minute of waiting outside, the man heard a loud boom, got hit in the head by a falling chunk of concrete and blacked out.
When he woke up, he was lying next to the rubble of the 12-story building that had collapsed. Shocked, and fearing he would be billed for any medical treatment of his bloody gash, the man left the scene where 98 people died and drove back to Oregon. He has never told anyone his terrifying story until now, as he seeks to collect $50,000 in personal injury damages.
In recent days, false information has circulated on social media, falsely presented as statements issued by official institutions regarding prevailing weather conditions across the island. In respo...