Firefighter Dies After Motorcycle Crash

ST. PETERSBURG – A 40-year-old veteran firefighter died Wednesday from injuries he suffered Nov. 20, after his Honda motorcycle hit a car leaving a shopping center on Bay Pines Boulevard.

James G. Fehl, who is from Seminole, was driving his 1987 Honda west on Bay Pines Boulevard when the motorcycle hit a Pontiac Surefire driven by Shane Ross of Kenneth City.

Fehl was a veteran firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District, which serves beach communities along the Gulf coast, including Indian Rocks and Indian Shores.

Fire Chief Robert Polk described Fehl as having a "work ethic that is second to none. He showed compassion and a willingness to go the extra mile. He was a consummate professional."

The investigation into the accident continues. According to officials, Ross, 20, was leaving a parking lot at 9685 Bay Pines Blvd., and heading east, when his Pontiac was struck by Fehl on his motorcycle heading west. Ross was heading  home after work, when the crash occurred at around 10 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20.

Fehl was thrown from his motorcycle. He was not wearing a helmet. Deputies say bystanders rushed to assist Fehl, and gave him CPR until paramedics arrived.

Fehl was taken by ambulance to Bayfront Medical Center, with life threatening injuries. He died at 1:21 a.m. Wednesday at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburug.

Fehl was a Seminole High School graduate. In addition to working as a firefighter and EMT, hehelped out with disaster relifer in emergencies that included  Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when Frehl cleared roads. He was cetified as a "smoke diver" with Florida State Fire College and fought fires with the U.S. Department of Forestry, according to the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District.