Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette was extremely lucky to escape a burning vehicle last month, with his SUV catching fire while he was on the I-275 in Tampa.
Initial reports noted that the car simply burst into flames, based on Fournette’s account of the incident. However, police are claiming otherwise.
TMZ is reporting that the Florida Highway Patrol has cited a witness claiming they saw the former NFL player speeding and racing a motorcycle rider and that he drove past them “at a high rate of speed.”
The witness told police “he observed the vehicle and [a] motorcycle to be racing and changing lanes,” claiming they were “racing when fire then erupted from the bottom of” Fournette’s vehicle.
Fournette told the authorities the black Dodge simply caught fire out of nowhere while he was driving, adding he had been having some trouble with it lately.
A police spokesperson has indicated that no further action is expected, so the Super Bowl winner is in the clear either way.
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Fournette, 28, joined the Bucs on a one-year deal as a free agent in 2020 after being waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars and played an instrumental role in their winning the Super Bowl. He signed two extensions with the team thereafter but was released in March and remains a free agent.
