'Please Come,' Cyclist Stabbing Witness Begs 911

By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff)

Kevin Adorno was not alone in the moments following the Sept. 1 stabbing that would lead to his death, according to new information released by the Vero Beach Police Department Thursday.

Several customers inside the U.S. 1 McDonald’s who witnessed the cyclist’s stabbing jumped in and tried to save him, an unedited arrest affidavit and recording of the 911 call indicate.

“Someone was stabbed,” witness Antony Caramanis said on the call. “Please come … please get an ambulance here.”

Caramanis was inside the 1925 U.S. 1 McDonald’s on his computer when he noticed Adorno pull up on his bicycle. Adorno sat behind him in the restaurant and then went outside to use the phone, the arrest affidavit stated.

While on the phone with his girlfriend, Elyse Fuggetta, Adorno was attacked and stabbed by a man in the parking lot. Fuggetta told police she didn’t hear any signs of trouble.

“The last thing she heard was the phone drop and then shortly thereafter the sound of the sirens in the background,” the affidavit stated.

Adorno, 32, stumbled back inside the McDonald’s while his attacker ran across the road to a nearby Burger King.

Witnessing the attack, Caramanis got up from his table and ran to the door Adorno was trying to enter.

“Caramanis stated he immediately attempted to help Adorno by placing pressure on his chest,” the report stated. “Caramanis also stated that he felt as though his hands were literally on Adorno’s heart due to the severity of the wound.”

Caramanis called 911 while other customers came to Adorno’s aid.

Witness Barbara Main told police she witnessed the attack and tried to assist Adorno. She is heard on the 911 call describing the suspect.

Police found Rene Herrera Cruz, 59, a short while later.

Cruz told police he had just come to Vero Beach from Miami and was homeless. He said he had been “spending a large amount of his time in the parking lot of McDonald’s,” the report said.

He later told police he attacked Adorno because he felt he was “directing the people to go after him.”

Adorno of Farmington, Conn., was taken to a local hospital where he died a short while later.

Cruz is being held without bond on one count of first-degree murder.

Adorno was reportedly biking from Maryland to Miami to check off an item on his “bucket list” before asking Fuggetta to marry him. Police found an engagement ring in his possessions.

See Also:

• Stabbing Victim Was Biking from Maryland to Florida to Propose

Photo Credit: Kevin Adorno/Photo courtesy of the Vero Beach Police Department