Dan van der Kooy and his wife Leah were surveying Hurricane Milton damage on Oct. 10 when their vehicle slowed for traffic on Manatee Avenue in Bradenton. A Bradenton police officer drove by and stopped his patrol car after seeing an American flag in the road.

The death of the resident has been officially attributed to Hurricane Milton by the District 12 Medical Examiner's Office.

Last week Hurricane Milton carved a path of destruction as it raced across Florida, leaving communities flooded, homes awry and at least 24 deaths in its wake. The Category 3 storm made landfall late Wednesday,