Getty Image
Two weeks ago, free agent NFL running back Leonard Fournette appeared to have narrowly escaped serious injury when his SUV caught fire while he was driving.
“Man it was one of those days today, but I would like thank God, my car caught on fire while I was driving, But I’am [sic] still blessed,” Fournette wrote on Instagram alongside video of his melted SUV.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct_8Y47NMk9/?hl=en
The 28-year-old Fournette was reportedly driving northbound on I-275 in Tampa Bay when his black Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat began burning.
Initial reports from the Florida Highway Patrol said that the fire was caused by a mechanical issue. Fournette reportedly told cops that he had been “having problems with the vehicle as of late.”
Now, a police report obtained by TMZ paints a much more interesting picture of the incident.
A witness on the scene of the car fire told police that “he observed the vehicle and [a] motorcycle to be racing and changing lanes.”
It was during this “racing when fire then erupted from the bottom of” Fournette’s SUV.
The witness also said that Fournette then slowed down and pulled over while the person on the motorcycle kept going.
Florida Highway Patrol told TMZ that their work on the incident was complete and it was not going to be investigated.
“No further action is expected at this point,” said police.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsPeVjQuymA/?hl=en
Fournette recently completed his sixth year in the NFL and third with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released by the team at his request on March 17, 2023 after signing a three-year, $21 million contract on March 23, 2022.
He rushed for 668 yards and caught 73 passes for another 523 yards, scoring six total touchdowns in 2023 with the Bucs. His best season came in his third and final year with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 when he rushed for 1,152 yards and caught 76 passed for 522 yards.