Roanoke: New food truck explodes, two critically injured in blast

Two people received critical injuries after a likely explosion at a food truck in Roanoke Tuesday morning.

Roanoke Fire-EMS was notified of a fire involving a food truck at 7:34 a.m.

The food truck was located on 13th Street SW.  The two patients were located outside of the trailer. Medical aid was provided to both.

All hot spots were extinguished inside the truck, according to RFE.

The fire and its origin are under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office. The preliminary investigation indicates the incident was accidental.

Christian Torres wrote on social media that his daughter was one of the victims. He said a little girl was with his daughter and both are in critical condition with severe burns. Torres said in his comments that the food truck was new.

Christian A Torres: Thanks to so many people who are praying for my daughter’s health and recovery. Let me tell you that there was another little girl with my daughter on the other side of the food truck. That little girl is also in very serious condition. Both were transferred to Richmond and they are in critical condition. The burns are very severe, and they are recovering. Apparently, they say it was an accident, but the food truck was new. And that should carry weight for an investigation. But they’ve ruled it as an accident, and I think that’s not right.

A social media page for the Rositas fruity Antojitos latinos food truck was set up on Monday. The food truck and nearby picnic tables were pink with a Strawberry Shortcake-type character in the logo.

The food truck’s menu included funnel cakes, waffles, mini pancakes, smoothies and other desserts.

Published business hours were 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. The explosion likely occurred as the business set to open Tuesday morning.

The address for the food truck was 737 13th St. SW in Roanoke. Comments on the Roanoke Fire-EMS post indicated the truck was located in the parking lot of Taco Rojas.