State Attorney: Driver in high-speed crash on Cocoa exit ramp indicted for murder
A 41-year-old driver who flashed an obscene gesture at troopers during a high-speed interstate chase before slamming into a parked tow truck on a Cocoa off-ramp, killing his three passengers, has been indicted by the Brevard grand jury.
The Brevard state attorney's office announced April 17 that Vernon James Hodges of Sebastian was formally charged on 17 counts, including three counts of first-degree felony murder; aggravated fleeing to elude, causing death; three counts each of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and driving without a license or while license suspended or revoked, causing death; DUI with serious bodily injury; and driving under the influence and causing damage.
The deadly crash happened at 8:30 a.m. March 28. Hodges was arrested and jailed April 3.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Hodges was driving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz northbound on Interstate 95 when they spotted the vehicle going over 100 mph and initiated a pursuit. Troopers said Hodges, as he exited at State Road 520, waved out the window and made an obscene hand gesture moments before the Mercedes plowed into a tow truck parked on the shoulder.
Records show the Mercedes slammed into the back of a flatbed tow truck, shredding the car, and spun across the roadway. Hodges climbed out of the crushed vehicle with a laceration to his arm while his passengers — Alicia M. Carter, 31, of Melbourne, Eleasya J. Fulton, 24, of Palm Bay, and Leon Holmes, 41, of Vero Beach — were killed on impact.
Tow truck driver John Youmara, 39, of Palm Bay, was also seriously injured and is recovering. He was working under the rear axle of the truck, preparing it to be towed, and became trapped beneath the wreckage.
Hodges was hospitalized at Holmes Regional Medical Center and later arrested. He remains held without bond at the Brevard County Jail Complex in Sharpes.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Driver in Cocoa exit ramp crash that killed 3 indicted for murder
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Florida man's fateful decision to hide under truck from storm has tragic consequences
A man in Florida was run over and killed while he was sheltering from a storm beneath a vehicle in a parking lot, according to local police. Daniel Hodge, 53, was killed early on Monday after he hid beneath a parked vehicle to escape the rain. Police are not pursuing criminal charges against the driver related to Hodge's death, ClickOrlando reports. "The investigation into the death of Daniel J Hodge, which occurred on Monday, June 16, 2025, has concluded. No criminal charges are being pursued in this incident," police said in a statement. Police said that Hodge climbed beneath a commercial vehicle in the overnight hours between Sunday and Monday. About an hour after her slipped under the vehicle, the driver arrived at the parking and loaded into the vehicle. The driver pulled out of the parking lot unaware that Hodge was hiding beneath the vehicle's trailer. Hodge reportedly sustained fatal injuries as the vehicle was pulling out of the parking lot, according to police. Two days prior, another tragic accident claimed a life on a Florida roadway. In Orange County on Saturday, a 30-year-old trying to run across the Florida Turnpike was hit by two vehicles, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash happened around 9pm near SR 417, according to state troopers. The man reportedly sprinted from the woodline directly into the southbound lanes of the Turnpike. He was hit by a Toyota Highlander and a Chevy Silverado, FOX 35 reports. The man was from Hollywood, Florida. Police have not released his name or a reason why he might have rushed out into busy turnpike traffic.
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
A Man Drove a Car Down Rome's Spanish Steps. It Did Not Go Great.
What's the quickest way down Rome's Spanish Steps? Definitely not by car. Before dawn on Tuesday morning, an 80-year-old man behind the wheel of a Mercedes A-Class tried to navigate the sedan down the iconic steps, which are closed to vehicles, according to Rome's police department. The car made it part of the way down but got stuck, the authorities said. Nobody was injured and the police did not announce any damage to the monument. The driver tested negative for alcohol, the police said in a statement. The police did not identify the driver or say where he was from, but did release a photo of him, standing by the vehicle and dressed in a suit, talking to a police officer. According to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, the man was in a state of confusion. A video of the episode circulating online shows the car slowly making its way down the steps. The fire department later removed the car from the steps with a crane. Sowad Mujibullah was working a night shift at a nearby hotel just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday when he heard a loud sound and saw the car come down the steps. He initially thought that it was part of a movie shoot, but 'then I realized, no, it was not like that, because nobody was there.' He captured video of the incident, which he called shocking. The steps are one of the most historic places in Italy, he said in a phone interview, adding: 'It should not be destroyed by these crazy things.' Destroying or damaging a monument or property that has significant value in Rome is punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of more than 2,000 euros ($2,300). Prohibitions against vehicles on the Spanish Steps, Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti in Italian, have not prevented other incidents. In 2022, American tourists pushed an electric scooter down the steps, causing 25,000 euros in damage. The same year, a man drove a Maserati sports car down the steps after taking a wrong turn.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Elderly man drives down Rome's Spanish Steps and gets stuck
An 80-year-old man has told police he was 'wrong' to drive down Rome's famed Spanish Steps, after firefighters had to recover his vehicle from the landmark in the early hours of Tuesday. The man was not injured in the incident but he was nonetheless taken to the hospital, where he tested negative for both drug and alcohol consumption, city police said in a statement. The driver, who has not been identified, told officers he was 'going to work' and had taken a wrong turn, according to Italian media reports. It is unclear if he was using a GPS device. The gray Mercedes-Benz A-Class car got stuck halfway down the 18th-century staircase around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, the Italian Fire Brigade said in a statement. The car had been stopped by police officers who were patrolling the area. The fire department said it had to use a crane at the foot of the steps to lift the vehicle off the stairway. Some damage to the vehicle was visible, but it is unclear whether that was the result of Tuesday's incident. The steps are currently closed to the public. The normal procedure when Rome's historic monuments are involved in an incident is for archaeologists to inspect them for damage. The man had a valid driver's license, according to Italian media. Under Italian law, drivers over the age of 80 are obliged to renew their license every two years and undergo a medical examination, which includes basic cognition questions. Back in 2022, a Saudi man tangled with the law after he drove a Maserati down the Spanish Steps. He was charged with aggravated damage to cultural heritage and monuments after the car caused fractures to the 16th and 29th steps of the right-hand flight rising up from the Piazza di Spagna. That same year two American tourists were fined and briefly banned from Rome's city center after damaging the steps with electric scooters. The steps owe their name to the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, which is hosted in a palazzo in the square below. A two-year, 1.5 million-euro ($1.7 million) restoration of the landmark — which has appeared in numerous movies, most notably 1953's 'Roman Holiday,' starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck — was completed in 2015.
