Our top of the web: Tragic stories, sports highlight our most-read stories, videos of 2015
The Internet has broadened SunHerald.com's audience beyond South Mississippi, and some of the stories in 2015 reached far beyond the local audience.
As we close the year, we looked back on the stories and videos that captured your attention online.
The stories included staff reporter Wesley Muller's dramatic tale of a Hancock County deputy who was attacked when he stopped to check on a car at an isolated rest stop. The video from the scene captured nearly a half-million views -- 465,290, and the story was the second most read of the year with 97,682 page views.
Sports videos also were very popular. Take the submitted video of a fly ball that hit a D'Iberville outfielder on the head and sparked a double play. It grabbed 211,635 page views on our YouTube channel. Then a video by staff photographer John Fitzhugh, who was at Hoopsfest at the Coast Coliseum to shoot basketball action, earned 23,648 views after he recorded a fight that broke out in the stands.
And sports writer Patrick Ochs was at the right place and time to capture a foot
ball video that asked viewers whether it was a touchdown or an interception. The video of the play, which led to Gulfport's 42-35 win over George County, grabbed 12,787 views this year.
The stories that most grabbed readers' attention were often tragic.
Margaret Baker's story on the death of a woman who worked the late-night shift at a Waffle House in Biloxi was SunHerald.com's most-read story of the year with 201,247 page views.
Fitzhugh's coverage of a wreck in D'Iberville on a Sunday afternoon had 71,595 page views and the corresponding video grabbed 120,967 video views. Also of note, Fitzhugh's photograph of a firefighter using a cellphone to show the film "Happy Feet" video to a young boy injured in the wreck went viral on social media.
Here is a list of the most-viewed Sun Herald stories and videos of 2015. Have you seen them all?
Most-read stories
201,247 -- One dead after shooting at Biloxi Waffle House
97,682 -- Official: Men tried to carry Hancock deputy into woods to kill him
71,595 -- ’I saw five kids ejected’: Residents, first responders come to aid of car-crash
49,890 -- Graphic: Fight at Nereids Mardi Gras parade in Waveland
35,462 -- New Orleans woman found in pieces on I-10 last seen leaving strip club, has young son
31,907 -- More ‘flesh-eating bacteria’ in Gulf of Mexico as waters warm up
31,445 -- Hurricane Katrina Before, After & Now: Biloxi
28,924 -- Biloxi Waffle House server killed over a cigarette was so friendly
28,830 -- 4 Gulfport women arrested in ‘planned fight’ caught on social media videos
28,734 -- Missing Gulfport woman last seen heading to work
26,788 -- Former Casino Magic in Biloxi to get new life as resort, water park
26,669 -- Largest haunted house on Mississippi Coast opens
26,198 -- Transgender teen is victim of George County murder
26,038 -- Police: Management with singer R. Kelly, Club Illusions II involved in fight
25,637 -- UPDATE: Authorities search for three men after Hancock deputy beaten, cut during traffic stop
25,237 -- Mystery solved: Keesler Air Force Base team solves riddle of illness aboard C-130s
25,594 -- Biloxi honors Josie Wells as his body is brought home to Jackson County
24,053 -- MSU freshman football player Keith Joseph Jr. and father killed in car crash
Most viewed videos
465,290 -- Men tried to carry Hancock deputy into woods to kill him, officials say (May 19, 2015)
211,635 -- Fly ball hits D’Iberville outfielder on head, leads to double play (March 19, 2015)
120,967 -- Passengers thrown from car in wreck (Sept. 5, 2015)
45,764 -- Fight at Lake George meeting (Nov. 17, 2015)
41,756 -- Massive fight at Prudie Circle in Gulfport results in 4 arrests (March 24, 2015)
40,792 -- Fight at Nereids Mardi Gras Parade in Waveland (Feb. 8, 2015)
24,942 -- Hurricane Katrina Before, After & Now: Biloxi (Aug. 1, 2015)
23,648 -- Fight at Hoopsfest at Coliseum in Biloxi (Jan. 10, 2015)
18,792 -- Gulfport man survives piece of metal shot into his head (April 23, 2015)
17,997 -- Gautier homicide may be linked to Delta State shooting (Sept. 14, 2015)
12,787 -- TD or INT? Gulfport defeats George County 42-35 on controversial call (Oct. 2, 2015)
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Our top of the web: Tragic stories, sports highlight our most-read stories, videos of 2015 ."