Veteran’s food truck aids stranded drivers on icy I-40, gets social media attention
By Gracie Palmer
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A veteran’s social media post received a lot of attention, offering an act of kindness during a traffic nightmare on I-40 Monday night.
Richard Gray served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1997.
On Monday night, he found himself serving his community once again.
“Right place, right time, you know,” said Gray.
Richard was leaving an event in Mills River—hauling his seafood food truck, The Bell Buoy. He was on his way home to Waynesville.
“I packed up and hit the road about 7:15 p.m. and when we got off 26 and hit 40, it was just gridlocked,” Gray said.
That’s when wintry weather stopped traffic on I-40 for hours.
“I was talking to one of my friends, and he said there was somebody up by the weigh station that had been sitting there for about four and a half hours, and they needed something to drink,” Gray said.
“I just thought to myself, ‘I have water and food and snacks in the truck, so let’s just post it and see if somebody wants something,'” Gray said.
He pulled his food truck off on Exit 37, posted on Facebook, and started giving out food and water.
One of the drivers he served was paramedic Destiny Burgess.
“So, I had just got off a 36-hour shift, [and I hit] standstill traffic,” Burgess said.
Burgess was scrolling on her phone when she saw Richard’s post and pulled over.
“He gave me a full meal, drinks, chips, sweets to take home,” Burgess said.
This was the fuel she needed for her now, 5-hour commute home.
“He didn’t have to offer that. It helped a lot to get me back across the mountain.”
Since then, Gray’s social media has blown up, and so has his business.
“I didn’t do this expecting anything to happen. I did this to help people out that were stuck like we were,” Gray said.
“It means a lot. You know, with everything going on in the world, kindness goes a long way,” Burgess said.
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