KAMLOOPS — Deanna Bell says her heart is broken.
Bell owns and operates Cookshack Cravings, a popular food trailer based in Kamloops.
She was on her way to Billy Barker Days in Quesnel Wednesday, driving on a rainy highway between Williams Lake and Quesnel when her rig crashed, completely destroying her trailer.
“The trailer went first. If the truck would have gone first, we would have been killed. If I would have went in the other lane, we would have been killed. I just tried to keep us out of the trucker lane, so when it left the hitch, it just pulled us into the ditch, and completely destroyed my food truck,” said Bell.
While she’s grateful to be alive, Bell says she’s having a hard time accepting that her trailer is no longer usable.
“We are alive, and everybody keeps saying that, and I get it. I am in the middle of realizing that I’ve lost my livelihood, but we are alive. I just can’t go from one to the other that quickly. She’s not coming home to Kamloops with me.”
The crash left the unmistakable orange trailer battered.
“It was just like it had been in a mix-master. It shook like a blender, it was full of curry and sour cream, and sauerkraut and coffee grounds. Everything was just mixed up.”
Bell says while she is encountering some frustrations with insurance, she is confident the loss will be covered.
“It’s not easy, because no one knows about food trucks. The insurance people are like ‘this is going to be interesting to research’ and I’m like, booked until October, we need to get on this.”
In the meantime, though, she has a series of events booked throughout the summer, and is in danger of losing her livelihood if she can’t make those events.
“They don’t get it. It’s not a motorhome, it’s not a fifth wheel, it’s not a travel trailer, it’s not a car, it’s not a van. There is just so much involved, and they are not food people, so I don’t know what they are going to do. I mean, I need to get a new truck really fast.”
Bell’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money, but she says right now, the more urgent need is equipment.
Bell is looking for a food truck or trailer to use in the interim, as well as kitchen equipment to fill it so she can follow through with her commitments.
If you can help her, email by clicking here.
Jeff Gilroy and his Cheffrey 911 trailer have gone to Quesnel to help Bell continue to serve at Billy Barker Days.
Bell also pointed out her cook, Hardley Williams, who was in the crash with her, has been a pillar of strength throughout the ordeal.
