Arizona bank employees rushed to the aid of a longtime neighborhood food vendor as a powerful storm swept through the Phoenix area, helping him and his cart reach safety while fierce winds and hail pounded the area. The heartwarming rescue was captured on video.
The incident occurred at a PNC Bank branch as severe weather swept through the Phoenix area last week, prompting employees to help a local vendor caught in the storm, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
Footage recorded by someone inside the bank shows an employee working with the vendor, identified as Hilario Cruz Cruz, to pull his food cart indoors as the storm intensified.
The rescue video spread rapidly across social media, drawing more than 1 million views on TikTok along with hundreds of thousands of likes.
Hilario Cruz recalled battling powerful winds while bank employees helped bring his food cart inside during a Phoenix storm. (Claudia Marquez; FOX 10 Phoenix)
“With one hand, I held the door against the strong wind blowing it, and with my other hand I pulled the cart inside. The young man was doing the same on his side. If I had been anywhere else, maybe they wouldn’t have been able to help me like that,” Cruz Cruz told FOX 10 Phoenix through a translator.
Cruz Cruz said the bank employees were longtime customers who had purchased food from his cart for years.
He believes their familiarity with him and his business prompted them to intervene when the severe weather arrived.
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“They said, ‘He’s not going anywhere else. He stays here, and we’re bringing the cart inside.’ I said, ‘It won’t fit,’ but the manager said, ‘I know it will,’” he recalled.
Cruz Cruz was soaked by the storm and later faced fallen trees and branches as he made his way home.
Phoenix food vendor Hilario Cruz Cruz said employees at a local PNC Bank helped him get out of the severe weather after recognizing him as a longtime neighborhood vendor. (FOX 10 Phoenix)
A week later, though, Cruz Cruz had returned to Peoria Avenue, where he was once again selling elotes and fresh fruit.
He said sales have surged since the video of the Phoenix storm rescue went viral.
“I deeply appreciate my long-term customers. That’s why they didn’t leave me outside,” Cruz Cruz said. “I am profoundly grateful to the bank manager and employees because, thanks to them, nothing bad happened to me.”
PNC Bank employees help a local food vendor bring his cart indoors as powerful winds and hail sweep through Phoenix, Ariz. (Claudia Marquez)
News Media has contacted PNC Bank for additional information.