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A Friend Says Van Fire Victim Lived In Vehicle

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 31, 2009

Updated: 03/31/2009 10:28 pm

PORT RICHEY - A man died Tuesday morning, trapped in a burning van outfitted as a camper and parked at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The man's identity is not being published because next of kin had not been notified.

James Bilotta, who identified himself as a friend of the victim, said the man was 50, came from Michigan and lived in the vehicle.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. Firefighters with the Port Richey Fire Department 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. Tuesday and saw what he thought was a light post on fire in the parking lot. Woodworth said he drove to an adjacent McDonald's restaurant to report the fire, then realized it was a vehicle 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 lug wrench 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 the victim was a friend of his. 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."

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