LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) — A central Florida trucker used his vacation time to help deliver food and water to remote areas of Puerto Rico that were devastated by Hurricane Maria.
Fox 13 reports that Julio De La Rosa has been a trucker for years, working for Cheney Brothers Incorporated.
Rather than use his time off to relax, De La Rosa took three weeks of vacation time to help deliver supplies to those on the island who were essentially cut off from the outside world.
“As soon as they saw me, they started crying,” he told Fox 13. “We were the first ones getting there, and they were so happy.”
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De La Rosa stayed with over 100 other relief workers in a local church, and brought supplies from the American Red Cross to areas in the mountains with roads washed out by the hurricane.
He says conditions in Puerto Rico are still difficult five weeks after the storm hit. A majority of the island is still without power, and water and food are scarce.
De La Rosa says he is Dominican, and his wife is Puerto Rican. Four of her relatives are living with them in Florida until conditions back on the island improve.
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