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Man Who Died In Pasco Van Fire Reportedly Lived in Vehicle

News Channel 8 photo by RUGENE MOORE

A man died when his van-turned-camper caught on fire in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Port Richey on Tuesday morning.

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TBO.com

Published: March 31, 2009

Updated: 03/31/2009 11:01 am

PORT RICHEY - A man died when he became trapped inside a burning van outfitted as a camper this morning in a Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot.

TBO.com is not releasing the victim's name until authorities notify next of kin. James Bilotta, who identified himself as a friend of the victim, said the victim was a 50-year-old man from Michigan who lived out of his vehicle.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. Firefighters with Port Richey Fire Rescue said they found a stove, a refrigerator and a generator in the camper.

Andrew Woodworth was leaving the Wal-Mart, at U.S. 19 just north of Ridge Road, about 4:50 a.m. today and saw what he thought was a light post on fire at the back of the parking lot. Woodworth said he drove to an adjacent McDonald's restaurant to report the fire, then realized it was a vehicle on fire.

"I got out of my car to run into the McDonald's to tell them there was a vehicle fire, and I heard coughing and choking," an emotional Woodworth said. "When I looked up, I saw a gentleman hanging out the window, and my first reaction was to try to pull him out. When I approached the vehicle, there was just a lot of smoke and a lot of heat so I couldn't get to him.

"I kept asking him to come out the window, and he was incapacitated so I grabbed a four-way to try to bust out the rear window to try to get to him," said Woodworth, whose voice broke. "I guess he was homeless, and he had a lot of debris in back and I couldn't get to him."

Billy Smith said he was friends with the victim. He said the man had an aggressive form of cancer and that the fire was God's way of bringing him home.

Smith said his friend's death isn't really a loss "because I know he's in heaven. I know he's at peace now. He's not full of pain any longer."

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

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