ST. PETERSBURG — Police are investigating firefighters' discovery of a body in the trunk of a burning car on the Pinellas Trail early Monday.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue responded about 6 a.m. after a cyclist called to report a car on fire on the Skyway Trail, a section of the Pinellas Trail, behind the Twin Brooks Golf Course near 22nd Avenue South and 41st Street, according to St. Petersburg police. After putting out the fire, firefighters discovered the body of a male in the trunk of the car.
Police said the body is too badly burned to determine the person’s race or age.
It appeared from aerial video shown on WFLA, Ch. 8 that the car had been driven onto a portion of the trail where a raised platform elevates it above mangroves and marsh. The Pinellas Trail is for bicyclists and pedestrians and cars are prohibited there.