Veteran Freddie Finkley, 56, and his girlfriend, Stephanie Tidwell, have been homeless for approximately five years.
On Wednesday, April 7, they were panhandling at the Cervantes Street ramps by Interstate 110, just north of downtown Pensacola.
Finkley told the
Pensacola News Journal that he observed a car weaving, and seconds later, the vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck.
He recalled:
“Then I ran onto the bridge.
“Then the car started to catch on fire, and then the flames were coming through the dashboard.”
The car’s driver, Eric Lopez, 34, began “panicking” and yelled at Finkley and another passerby to stop helping him. Despite Lopez’ protestations and the raging flames, Finkley persisted.