Big trucks occupy huge parking space in Sarasota

Sarasota Parks Commission held its annual Big Truck Day Saturday, May 16, at Phillippi Creek Park. Children of all ages got to clamber aboard all manner of trucks, from the Sheriff Department’s emergency-response vehicle and a Sarasota County Fire Department truck to a garbage truck with a vacuum — which wowed the crowd by picking up a basketball then dropping it in a nearby hoop.

Earthbound for the day was the Sheriff’s Department chopper, with back seats and other unnecessary weight removed to give it longer flight time in the present fire season. Even so, it didn’t have standing headroom for
Nathaniel Atkins, of Sarasota, 6, who enjoyed clambering aboard, nonetheless.