Body found in burning car hours after crash in Orange County

ORLANDO, Fla. – A body was found in a burning car Tuesday morning in Orange County after the vehicle was involved in what appeared to be a minor crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported at 5:14 a.m. on River Oaks Drive at Hiawassee Road and “appeared to be minor with minimal damage to the vehicle,” the FHP said.

The FHP later clarified that the crash actually occurred around 12:32 a.m. when the driver of a 2016 Scion FR-S was traveling within Misty Oaks Apartments and, after making a left turn, slid off the paved road.

Surveillance video shows the driver and another person trying to remove the vehicle from a ditch, but they were unsuccessful. The driver then tries for hours to retrieve the car from the ditch but failed, the FHP said.

Orange County firefighters arrived after a 911 call hours later and checked on the man who was driving, believed to be involved in the initial crash, and he did not appear to be injured, troopers said.

Orange County Fire Rescue then notified the FHP about the wreck around 5:17 a.m., minutes after firefighters responded.

An FHP trooper investigated the crash at 6:48 a.m. and found the car on fire, with a dead person inside, according to authorities.

“Fire rescue told us that they talked to the gentleman.  He was not hurt.  He appeared to be okay, and he was just waiting for an available trooper… When (the trooper) got here, he noticed that the car was completely engulfed in flames,” FHP Lt. Kim Montes said.

Firefighters returned to the scene and put the fire out, officials said.

Surveillance video shows the car catching fire at around 6:39 a.m. FHP said it is believed the driver possibly left the car running while waiting for troopers to respond before it went up in flames for an unknown reason.

“He may have left the car running because it was cold and if his vehicle is sitting on debris… Then that may have started the fire,” Montes said.

Troopers do not believe foul play was involved.

No other details, including how the fire started or information about the victim, have been released.

The state fire marshal’s office will investigate the blaze.