Car Strikes St. Pete House, Bursts into Flames

A 35-year-old man is hospitalized following a Tuesday morning wreck the resulted in his vehicle striking a home and then catching on fire.

The incident unfolded around 5:10 a.m. as the man was driving north on Martin Luther King Street, according to an email from the St .Petersburg Police Department to media. The driver veered across the southbound lanes, struck a fence, a tree and then, finally, a duplex before going up in flames.

Police say it is unclear why the man, who has not yet been identified, veered off the road.

When police arrived on the scene, the man was lying outside of the car. It is unclear if he was ejected or crawled out, police noted.

The duplex was vacant and no one other than the driver was injured, police said. The man suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

More information is pending further investigation into the crash.

Photo from the St. Petersburg Police Department Facebook page

Keep up with what’s happening around town and the state by signing up for your favorite Patch daily newsletter: Bloomingdale-Riverview, Bradenton, Brandon, Carrollwood-Northdale, Clearwater, Dunedin, East Lake, Gulfport, Land O’ Lakes, Largo, Lutz, New Port Richey, New Tampa, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Beaches, Safety Harbor, Sarasota, Seminole Heights, South Tampa-Hyde Park, St. Pete, Tarpon Springs, Temple Terrace, Westchase.