BREAKING NEWS Roadways affected by Milton

Man flown to hospital after being burned in car fire

Reporter: Gail Levy Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published: Updated:
LeeFlight helicopter (Credit: Lee County EMS)

A burn victim has been transported to a Tampa hospital after being caught in a car fire in Cape Coral.

Master Cpl. Philip Mullen with the Cape Coral Police Department confirms that the victim is a man in his 40s. His injuries were severe enough to require a LeeFLight from the site of the fire off NW 19th St.

When the car caught fire, two teenagers didn’t wait for firefighters to get there.

“I saw two boys carrying a 5-gallon bucket of water to try to put it out,” said John Laonord, a neighbor who saw the boys and says they are heroes.

And because of them, the man inside has a chance to survive. He is currently being treated in a burn unit in Tampa.

“I heard that he wasn’t breathing and somebody said they heard him, medic say he’s breathing and that was one of the copter was here so they must’ve loaded him up,” said Laonord.

The fire burned the car so hot that the paint melted right off it. Neighbors say they even heard explosions that they believe came from the car.

John Laonord lives right down the street from where the car caught on fire.
He saw the flames and saw the panic in the people around him. He said he knows what it’s like to get burned, “just playing house with my little sister and she pushed me off the back of the bar and I fell on the stove and burnt both of my arms, but that’s nothing compared to what I saw there.”

Laonord said will not forget what happened so close to home, “I feel bad for the family and you know I’ll probably say some prayers for the gentleman.”

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