August 1, 2017

When Matthew Hoagland saw bright light inside a home on his newspaper delivery route early Tuesday morning, he called 911, then banged on the door and woke the homeowner up.

“I was pounding on the door really hard, and that’s apparently what got her up because she came out a moment later,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune’s Bob Mims.

Mims reports that the homeowner was unharmed, and shortly after firefighters showed up, Hoagland left to finish his route.

Newspaper carriers have a well-documented history of saving the day, including stopping robberies, rescuing people from flooded cars and saving babies. They’re also, sometimes, the victims of early-morning crimes and at least one unintentional ride along.

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KUTV reports that Hoagland has delivered newspapers for the Tribune and the Deseret News for several years. He told the Deseret News that he is glad the homeowner is safe, and explained why he got back to work so quickly.

I’m on a timeline on that one, to finish the routes. I just had to go. I gave the officer all the information and just gave her the newspaper and I left.

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Kristen Hare teaches local journalists the critical skills they need to serve and cover their communities as Poynter's local news faculty member. Before joining faculty…
Kristen Hare

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