Information Sought in Attack on Man

It was 3:15 a.m. on a day earlier this month when Maryann Nash got the bad news.

Her adult son had been brought the hospital due to an injury. She remembers being stunned when the phone rang.

Then “You get the real news,” she said. “You’re not comprehending anything. It’s beyond what somebody should go through.”

On Feb. 5, Tom Flanigan, 31, stopped the blue Mustang he was driving at a red light, according to Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies. His girlfriend was in the vehicle with him.

A white Ford expedition stopped beside them, the girlfriend told deputies.  Three men were inside, Flanigan’s girlfriend told deputies.  They challenged him to a race, and he refused. Then they challenged him to fight.

Flanigan drove the Mustang headed to the home that he and his girlfriend share, which is just south of the city of New Port Richey on beacon Hill Drive. The Expedition followed behind.

They arrived at the home, and Flanigan got out of the car and told the men he had their truck’s tag number, the girlfriend said. They left. The girlfriend went in the residence while Flanigan stayed outside to secure the Mustang.

A neighbor told deputies he heard men arguing in the street and a sound like someone had been struck by a vehicle, according to a report. When he went to the place the noise came from, he saw Flanigan lying on the ground.

Flanigan was bleeding from the mouth and had a swollen bruise at the back of his head. His knuckles were also bleeding. He suffered brain sweling, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Nash said a quarter of Flanigan’s skull has been removed and stored to be put back in later. He’s at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point now.  He’s been unconscious since the incident.

“He did open his eyes a little bit today (Feb. 15),” she said, “and he did respond to a couple of commands. That’s baby steps.“

Doctors haven't been able to tell Nash what the full effect of the injuries might be.

Nash said it’s unclear what happened the night of the incident

Flanigan was hurt in the head, not the body, like you would expect when someone is struck by a car.

It’s been very hard and stressful for Nash to deal with this, she said.

It’s “disheartening that somebody would do something like this, or three people would do something like this, and walk away,” she said.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is calling the incident a possible aggravated battery. There had not been any arrests as of Wednesday. There weren't any witnesses.

Information on the incident can be phoned in to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office dispatch at (727) 844-7711.