Armonk Opens its Heart to Loved Ice Cream Man After Crash
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
It took less than three days last week for a well-loved member of the Armonk community to receive an outpouring of support to help him pick up the pieces of his business and start again.
Rafael Arias, 46, who has been known for years as the local ice cream man, saw his bus totaled on July 8 at about 3:35 p.m. when a tire blew out while traveling southbound in the center lane on I-684, causing him to lose control and flip over several times off the side of the road.
Arias, fortunately, was not seriously hurt in the mishap, but the bus, a 2002 GMC that he uses to make his rounds selling his ice cream cones and pops and other cold treats as well as the equipment he needs inside the bus was essentially destroyed.
By the next day, community resident Devin Osberg organized a GoFundMe campaign, and in less than three days the community surpassed the $57,000 goal for Arias to replace his equipment.
By Monday, there had been 721 donations, ranging from $5 to $1,000 that is now just shy of $60,000.
A week after the accident, Arias took to the GoFundMe page to express his gratitude to everyone who has pitched in to help him and his wife, Sam.
“We seriously can not thank everyone enough for all the kindness, love, support and generosity that everyone has shown our family,” Arias wrote on the page. “I have read every message, seen every email and video and we are all just so touched, every single one of you mean so much to us and this is an amazing community that we are so proud and honored to be a part of.”
Not only did Arias walk away from the accident relatively unscathed, but so did his daughter who was with him in the bus, said North Castle Police Chief Peter Simonsen. Both were taken to Westchester Medical Center as a precaution, state police said.
“He is very well-known in this community and very well-liked, as you can see,” Simonsen said. “A very fortunate circumstance that he and his daughter were not seriously injured.”
According to Osberg, Arias works three jobs to provide for his family, and despite the outpouring of support, they will face a big challenge. While the money raised will cover the cost of the new equipment that’s needed inside the bus, it will not replace the vehicle.
He is renting another ice cream truck and hopes to be back on the road again soon to make his rounds while figuring out a way to permanently replace his bus, Osberg said.
“Please continue to keep them in your thoughts as they work on rebuilding his business,” Osberg wrote. “Ralph is looking forward to seeing everyone soon.”
Arias effusively praised the community members who came together quickly to help ease the plight for him and his family.
“So truly thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope to be fully functional by next season but for now I will be renting an ice cream truck so you will see me out and about soon! We wish we could hug each and every one of you. This has been a scary few days but all of you have helped us through it! Sincerely thank you! thank you! thank you!”
To see the GoFundMe page, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ralph-get-his-business-running-again.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/