Fact Check

Did a Taco Truck Open for Business on a Freeway in California Traffic?

Viral memes can often be quite misleading. However, this one was spot-on.

Published Sept. 28, 2021

 (Instagram)
Image Via Instagram
Claim:
A taco truck opened for business on a freeway in California traffic.
Context

It's true that a catering truck serving tacos opened up on a freeway for business while stuck in Los Angeles traffic. It happened on Aug. 24, 2018. However, despite the jokes about the woes of everyday driving in L.A., this was not a normal traffic day for the county. The food truck opened only after a tanker crashed and exploded, an incident that killed two people and created a massive fire on the road that blocked traffic for hours.

On Sept. 28, 2021, comedian and podcast host Adam Carolla reposted a meme on Facebook. It said: "Only in California, traffic is so bad a taco truck opened on the freeway."

This really did happen. It's true that a catering truck that served tacos opened up shop to serve drivers who were stuck in California traffic. The same meme was also recently reposted by the Livetrucking.com Facebook page and in the RightSightings conservative political Facebook group.

Some Facebook commenters appeared to believe that the catering truck picture was recent. Others remarked about how California traffic apparently was like this all of the time across the entire state, which was not true. We also noticed some people mentioning how it might not be the best idea to have tacos if there's no bathroom nearby on the freeway.

The truth is that this moment occurred on Aug. 24, 2018. The oldest version of the meme we found was from the @davie_dave Instagram page. The meme was tagged with "405 Santa Monica Freeway." However, that's not where this happened.

On that day in 2018, traffic came to a halt on the 105 freeway near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). At the time, CBS DFW covered the news, reporting that the traffic jam was caused by "a tanker crash and explosion." CBS Los Angeles also reported that two people were killed in the incident. Motorists were stuck for hours.

The owner of the food truck decided to offer half-price menu items, something that was mentioned in a brief video also from CBS DFW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHOLyuXFz-Y

In our search for more information about the food truck, we found that A.C. Catering, the owner of the food truck, did indeed serve tacos and other Mexican food right on the 105.

Video of the food truck was shared by Mario Ramirez, a morning reporter for Fox 11 Los Angeles.

According to Gina Silva, also a reporter for Fox 11, traffic came to a stop when the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. A video showed a Fox 11 camera on the ground next to the food truck, where burritos also were served.

The driver of the food truck made an appearance in Silva's full report on the news. The following Instagram post contains three separate videos. The catering truck driver can be seen in the third video by swiping or clicking two times to the right.

In the video, the food truck driver said that people walked up and told him they were "hungry," so he decided to open up for business.

In sum, it's true that a food truck that served tacos opened on for business on the 105 freeway in California after a rare, explosive, and deadly crash. However, since the moment occurred in 2018, we have rated this claim as "Outdated."

Sources

2 Killed After Tanker Truck Explodes Into Flames On 105 Freeway In Hawthorne. 24 Aug. 2018, https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/08/24/tanker-truck-flames-105-freeway-hawthorne/.
Food Truck Serves LA Drivers Stuck In Traffic. 24 Aug. 2018, https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/08/24/food-truck-serves-la-drivers-traffic/.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.