Family Out Tens Of Thousands After Food Truck Fire
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - It was a close call for workers inside the Chupina La Mexicana food truck after it caught fire in an Aurora intersection.
A family in Aurora says they're out $20,000 after the fire destroyed their truck.
Vicente Rueda was behind the wheel of the Chapina La Mexicana truck at Alameda Avenue and Crystal Street when it suddenly stopped before bursting into flames.
"The next thing you know, we see the motor just flaming up," Rueda said. "The first thing I thought was call 911 and move away from the fire."
His father-in-law, Fernando Rodriguez, has owned the truck for five months, and just made thousands of dollars in repairs.
"When I got the call the first thing I thought was, 'Is everyone was okay?' That's what's going to be most important," Rodriguez said. "The truck is a truck, they come and go, and business will start and they'll end, but you can't replace somebody's life."
Rodriquez started the business as a favor to a friend.
"At that moment, she didn't have a job. She's going through her papers for immigration. Part of the thing with immigration is you need to be working with an ITIN number, and you need to be showing that you're paying Uncle Sam," Rodriguez said. "Now she's out of a job and we've got to plan our next steps."
Even though the truck is a total loss, Rodriquez knows it could've been worse.
"Just because this happened doesn't mean it's going to stop us," Rodriguez said. "It's just a bump in the road. It's a lesson learned."
Rodriguez has started a GoFundMe page to get the food truck up and running.
Andrea Flores is a reporter for CBS4. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AndreaFloresTV.
