SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida couple rescued from their burning vehicle by an off-duty deputy took a different way home when the deputy rode by on his motorcycle and discovered them trapped inside.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports the Manatee County Sheriff’s deputy says he doesn’t think it was an accident that he was there to help the husband and wife escape before their car was engulfed in flames Sunday afternoon.
The Sheriff’s Office says there were no serious injuries because quick actions by Willie Finklea saved 64-year-old Neil Cook and 65-year-old Claudia Cook.
Finklea says he resorted to cautiously firing his personal gun to shatter a window and get them out. Finklea says he had no other tools to get inside the car and had tried banging on the window with his hand.
