Exclusive: Survivor of Deadly Car Fire Breaks Silence
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EAST JACKSON, Tenn. — The man who survived a weekend car fire that killed his friend broke his silence, Tuesday. Jeremy Smith says everything happened so fast. “When it sparked up on the roof, both of us started trying to pat ourselves off,” he recalled. “I guess, I accidentally kicked it over and the fire shot up on me some more. I was on fire.” He was carrying gas in what he calls a Folger’s can without a top. Smith said his friend Taleisha Souter picked him up when he ran out of gas early Sunday morning. . He said they were on their back to his stranded car with the gas and were sharing a cigarette. “She gave it to me and I guess the smoke hit the fumes or something,” Smith remembered. “It just sparked up and the fire hit me.” Smith said he never thought this would happen. He said they kept the car windows down, thinking the breeze would keep them safe from the fumes. When the fire ignited, Smith said he was somehow able to get out of the moving car. He said he ran beside the flaming car until it crashed in the parking lot of Grace and Deliverance Church on Whitehall Street. First responders said by the time they arrived the car was fully engulfed in flames. Smith said he does not know how he survived but Souter did not. He suffered third degree burns on his legs. “I don’t know how I’m gonna get over it,” Smith said. ” I got to live with that every day cause I seen it. I feel so helpless.” Police said the car fire is still under investigation. The family said the funeral arrangements have been set for Saturday, April 19 at Faith Deliverance Center at 1:00pm.
