Police officer’s car catches fire after he hits 142mph chasing down suspect: ‘Don’t try this at home’

He pulled over his hot car onto dry grass and smelt smoke. 

Kristin Hugo
New York
Saturday 10 November 2018 00:44 GMT
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A Florida Highway Patrol officer’s car caught on fire after he drove it 142 miles per hour and parked it on dry grass, a video shows.

The unidentified officer saw someone apparently speeding, and drove over the centre highway median to make a U-turn.

In pursuit of a dark RAV4, he drove up to 142 miles (229 km) per hour, including 130 miles (209 km) per hour on the shoulder.

The RAV4 was going an estimated 20 miles per hour over the speed limit.

The officer caught up the alleged speedster and pulled them over on the highway median. Before he was able to ticket the offender, he smelt smoke.

The officer drove the car backwards to find that the dry grass under the car had caught on fire. It is likely that, due to the speed, the undercarriage of the car had become overheated and set fire to the grass, according to Jalopnik.

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“My car’s trying to catch on fire,” the officer said. Soon enough, the cruiser did exactly that, and by the end of the video, the front of the car was completely engulfed in flame and smoke.

At first the officer asks the driver of the RAV4 to wait while he tries to extinguish the flames, but then tells the other driver to leave while the officer deals with his smoking vehicle. The officer then calls for backup to try to save his car, or at least his computer and load of ammunition inside.

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“I got my freakin’ wallet in there and everything,” he says.

It’s unclear from the video whether or not the cruiser was saved.

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