INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Law enforcement officers pulled a man from a burning car after a crash that officials said happened when the driver fled a traffic stop in Vero Beach.
The 40-year-old Fort Pierce man was in serious, but stable, medical condition on April 14 an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.
A video produced by the agency and shared on its social media accounts showed what was said to be body camera footage of deputies as they pulled Donald Eugene James Jr. from the driver’s seat as flames erupted from the front end of the car.
Police and deputies pulled a man out of a burning car that crashed after the driver was attempting to flee from a traffic stop late April 13, 2025, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
As deputies approached the vehicle with handguns drawn telling him to leave the car he could be heard responding to their commands saying, “I can’t. My legs don’t work.”
A police officer and sheriff’s deputy pulled him by his arms out of the vehicle and dragged him across a field from the burning car while he continued to say he was unable to stand or walk.
The vehicle struck a tree in a rural area east of Interstate 95. It was thought to have been traveling west on 26th Street which ends abruptly at 82nd Avenue, according to law enforcement and satellite map imagery.
Vero Beach police initially approached James for a traffic stop when he was found “passed out behind the wheel” at a traffic light near the Vero Beach Regional Airport, said sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Jaworski.
Police and deputies pulled a man out of a burning car that crashed after the driver attempted to flee from a traffic stop late April 13, 2025, according to Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
James faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
According to a news release about the incident, James was on inmate release status for a past murder and was out of prison.
Florida Department of Corrections records stated James was released from prison in 2023 after 16 years on a conviction of attempted second-degree murder. Seminole County court records show he was convicted following a 2006 arrest for possession of a firearm and felony discharge of a firearm in public or shooting into a dwelling.
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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Man pulled from burning car following attempted traffic stop