BREVARD COUNTY — A 41-year-old Sebastian man faces 22 charges – including murder – in connection with a car chase and crash that killed three passengers in his vehicle and left a tow truck worker seriously injured, reports show. The man, Vernon Hodges, exceeded speeds above 100 mph while fleeing from Florida Highway Patrol troopers moments before the deadly wreck on Interstate 95, officials said.
“This impact caused catastrophic damage to the front and passenger side of the vehicle,” troopers said in a crash report. “The crush damage to the vehicle extended from the front passenger’s side corner of the vehicle and into the rear seating area.”
Hodges faces a variety of charges including three counts of first-degree murder during a felony, three counts of killing of a human being with a vehicle, four counts of driving without a license causing injury or death, three counts of driving under the influence causing death to human and more, Brevard County court records show. Hodges was held Monday at the Brevard County Jail without bond.
The passengers killed in the wreck were a 41-year-old Vero Beach man, a 31-year-old Melbourne woman and a 24-year-old Palm Bay woman, according to a crash report. The injured tow truck worker was a 39-year-old Palm Bay man.
On March 28, Hodges’ white 2015 Mercedes Benz crashed into a tow truck at the exit ramp in Cocoa. The collision happened about 8:30 a.m. on northbound I-95 at the exit ramp to Kings Street near mile marker 201.
The incident unfolded when a highway patrol trooper clocked the Mercedes traveling well above the speed limit on the interstate. The trooper followed the Mercedes and activated the sirens and emergency lights on the patrol car.
The driver of the Mercedes, later identified as Hodges, did not stop and continued northbound on I-95, reports show. Troopers said Hodges accelerated, reaching 110 mph, as the Mercedes approached Exit 201 at State Road 520.
The Mercedes traveled on the outside shoulder and struck the back of a tow truck, troopers said. The tow truck worker was underneath the truck, hooking it up to another truck, when the Mercedes slammed into the back of the vehicle, reports show.
The impact caused the tow truck worker to become trapped under the truck’s rear axle, troopers said.
Troopers at the scene said they saw Hodges climb through the broken windshield to get out of the car. Hodges had a very large cut on his right shoulder and arm, report show.
Hodges and the tow truck operator were taken to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne with serious injuries. The passengers in the Mercedes were pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
Troopers found a 1-liter Corona bottle in the Mercedes.
Hodges had a revoked driver’s license, troopers said. Hodges has an arraignment on April 29, Brevard County court records show.
