INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 25-year-old man was seriously hurt after deputies said he drove at speeds of 130 mph, crashed and was thrown from the vehicle, which erupted in flames.
The Vero Beach man sped away when he spotted law enforcement officers, Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said. The man was taken by ground to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne with serious injuries.
The man was expected to be arrested after his release from the hospital, sheriff’s officials said. The vehicle, worth $10,000, was totaled, reports show.
Indian River County deputies spotted the vehicle make an illegal u-turn about 3:30 a.m. Saturday near Oslo Road and 27th Avenue, an incident report shows. The vehicle was traveling 55 mph in a 45 mph zone, authorities said.
Deputies tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued traveling through neighborhood roads. At one point, the vehicle accelerated rapidly and almost lost control in a series of turns, reports show.
“Once he saw deputies, he took off at a high rate of speed,” Flowers said.
Deputies did not pursue the automobile. Other patrol deputies clocked the vehicle going 130 mph northbound through a red light at 20th Avenue and Oslo Road, reports show.
Deputies eventually found the vehicle, which crashed into the woods and was engulfed in flames near the 1400 block of Schumann Drive, Sebastian, authorities said. Deputies found the man lying on the ground, Flowers said.
“He lost control on a curve and was ejected from the vehicle,” Flowers said.
Deputies ordered the man to crawl toward them. Fire rescue crews extinguished the flames and took the man to the hospital.
Deputies and Florida Highway Patrol were investigating the incident.
