Portland father, coach dies in I-65 crash involving 4 semis
Coaches may not remember every player who tackled and scored on the Portland High School football field, but Miguel Almendarez and Fred Combs remember a specific one.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Portland community is remembering a beloved husband, father, football player and coach.
Alex Freedle, 28 was driving on the interstate when his truck was sandwiched between four semis. Now, his football coaches say a decade later, they still talk about the impact he made on the team and the Portland area.
Coaches may not remember every player who tackled and scored on the Portland High School football field, but Miguel Almendarez and Fred Combs remember a specific one.
“I saw that picture in 2012 and I was like ‘that’s it!’,” says Almendarez. “I saw – there’s the arm and there’s the other hand where it needs to be and everything.”
They coached Freedle on how to be the best player for five years. Recently, he got engaged to his fiancé and was a father to two kids. He also just bought a home down the street from Almendarez who was excited to have Freedle, one of his football favorites, in the neighborhood.
“I got stories of him that I still tell the kids because that was the example he was,” he says. “If you can give me the effort that he gave, I would be so happy.”
Almendarez says Tuesday he told one of those stories to his players. It was the same day he would learn Freedle died in a car crash.
It happened on I-65 North near the Cross Plains exit. THP says Freedle’s pick-up truck was smashed in a five-car accident involving four semis.
“He was going to help me coach this year with middle school students,” says Combs. “And I was excited, he was so excited.”
In fact, his new team was going to practice for the first time Friday.
“I had his practice plan of what to do Friday for practice,” says Combs. “I was working on that of what I was going to give him Friday like, ‘Hey, this is what you’re going to do with the guys.’ That’s one of those things, I’m not going to move that for a while.”
But Combs still wants his team to appreciate the teammate and man Freedle was now and a decade ago.
“I’m going to make sure my players, when we start Friday, know what kind of coach he could’ve been,” says Combs.
A funeral service has not been scheduled yet for Freedle. His family hopes to do that in the coming days. They say in lieu of flowers, people should donate to the Portland High School football team.
THP says the two semi-drivers who crashed into Freedle’s truck could face charges.
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