Why Asking for Directions May Not be a Good Idea

from the South Florida Sun Sentinel

An Illinois tourist who was asking for directions was shot and killed After dropping his son off at a shopping mall in South Florida. Ronald Gentile, 54, pulled over in the Coconut Grove area Saturday afternoon to ask for directions. Witnesses reported seeing Gentile roll down the window on his rented white Chevrolet Cobalt and a man dressed in black then apparently approached the vehicle, robbed and shot Gentile.

Gentile was in South Florida to celebrate his son's 17th birthday. He was supposed to spend Sunday morning watching Superman Returns with his son Paul, who turned 17 on Saturday.

Shortly after Gentile dropped off his son for work, the furniture salesman was driving to his ex-wife's Miami home and got lost in Coconut Grove, police theorize. They suspect Gentile pulled over his rental car at 5:30 p.m. Instead of offering help, a man dressed in black shot Gentile and ran off with some of his belongings. A witness saw Gentile stumble out of the bloodstained car and fall just a few feet away.