Coachella family left with financial and medical burden after drunk driver crashes into taco truck business
Athena Jreij
COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) — The owners of Fernando’s Tacos in Coachella are reeling after a suspected drunk driver crashed into their taco truck earlier this week.
Last Thursday, August 21, a White Toyota Corolla ran a stop sign and crashed into a power pole at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Calhoun Street. That driver, who later died from their injuries, then hit a Nissan Frontier, which was pushed into the taco truck.
The owners, Lourdes and Fernando Solorzano were in that truck and are now both recovering from their injuries while also grappling with the financial burden of losing their business.
“It’s sad because I had big dreams of working but then everything ended,” Fernando said.
“That’s actually the first time that I heard my dad get emotional over the accident. He’s really strong, you know, My dad loves meeting new people. He loves doing this line of work, you know, customer service,” Samantha Solorzano, their daughter said.
Fernando says the crash pushed his truck 15 feet down the road. Both him and his wife blacked out from the impact and have trouble remembering much, but they say there’s still residual pain from the accident.
“I was working outside the trailer then boom it all crashed. The police report said it pushed my truck about 15 feet,” Fernando said.
“My mom kind of blacked out from how quick it was and from when she first initially fell. Then she says that out of that state of unconsciousness she kind of heard my dad screaming for her to see if she was okay,” Samantha said.
That accident totaled the truck they use to haul the trailer and now they’re left without everyday transportation, like to Lourdes’s doctor appointments.
They estimate the damage is in the thousands, but their daughter Samantha says the damage goes beyond the financial burden.
“With with this accident, it’s something traumatic for them, so I don’t know if they would even want to get back into it or even if they wanted to later down the road,” she said.
If you’d like to support the family’s Gofundme, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-fernandos-tacos-help-lourdes-and-fernando?cdn-cache=0