Juan Baltazar grills street corn at his food truck, El Mandilon.
ST. LOUIS — The owner of a local street corn food truck died when a tree crushed his truck in the city’s Carondelet neighborhood during Friday’s storms, family and friends said Saturday.
Juan Baltazar, 48, was a father of seven who hoped to make an impact with his elóte food truck, El Mandilon, said Nicholas Brown, a friend and the stepfather to one of Baltazar’s children.
“He was always quick to give away food or give it away at a discount,” Brown said. “He just loved what he did. He loved being around people.”
Baltazar, originally from Mexico, worked in construction. But he also had an entrepreneurial spirit, Brown said. He wanted to leave a legacy for his children. So he came up with the idea of a food truck that sold elóte — grilled corn on the cob, slathered with mayonnaise and cheese.
Juan Baltazar grills street corn at his food truck, El Mandilon.
Using a small donated trailer and an old oil barrel, Baltazar fashioned a grill and a workstation. Before too long, he was serving up street corn at various local festivals.
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When thieves stole his original trailer, Baltazar was undeterred. He reached out to the public for help, and a local woman donated a new one.
“It was really taking off,” Brown said. “He was really proud.”
On Friday afternoon, Baltazar was driving to Brown’s house to pick up his son for the weekend when the storm blew through and the tree fell. He was one of at least five to die during the storm, officials said.
One of the others, Patricia Penelton, 74, died after part of a church collapsed on her and was also identified by friends and family.
None has been identified by authorities.
See drone footage of tornado damage to the Fountain Place, Academy, DeBaliviere Place, and Central West End neighborhoods of ӣƵ, one day after a May 16, 2025 tornado ripped through the region, as seen on May 17, 2025.
The news of Baltazar’s death shook his family.
Three of his children live in the U.S. and four are back in Mexico, but Brown said a day rarely passed where he didn’t speak to all of them.
He was the life of the party at holidays and vacations. He loved a good joke.
And he had recently bought a home with his wife, a housekeeper at Drury hotels. He was getting ready to celebrate his daughter’s graduation from kindergarten.
“He was an amazing dad,” Brown said.
Photos and video: ӣƵans sort through rubble a day after likely EF-3 tornado ravages area
"I have never seen anything like this," said Jerikah McCloud, 23, seen in the destroyed second story of her family home on Kensington Street, in the Academy neighborhood of ӣƵ, on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
“My house is just gone, and it was beautiful,” said Curtis McGrath, who retrieves some personal papers, photos and clothes from his home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy neighborhood. The National Weather Service has confirmed that it was a tornado, possibly an EF-3, that hit ӣƵ the day before.
“My house is just gone and it was beautiful,” said Curtis McGrath, who climbs stairs to retrieve some photos and clothes from his tornado-damaged home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on May 17, in the Academy neighborhood of ӣƵ. The city asked that Ameren disconnect power going to buildings that inspectors have determined are unsafe, Mayor Cara Spencer said.
John McCloud clears out his his family home on the 5200 block of Kensington Street on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy Neighborhood. McCloud has lived there for 24 years.
“I grew up in this community. People need help and we are helping,” said Cornelius Coleman, who uses a sledge hammer to break apart a tree blocking a resident’s home along Enright Avenue on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy neighborhood of ӣƵ.
"This is going to bring ӣƵ together," said Craig Cole Jr., who visits with his friend Tay, who dropped by to see how he was doing on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Fountain Park neighborhood of ӣƵ. One day earlier, a tornado completely destroyed Cole's two story duplex on Page Avenue which is reduced to rubble in the background.
"This is a photo of my ex-wife and son. I was hoping to find a photo of my mother," said Curtis McGrath, who was able to retrieve a few personal items from his home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy Neighborhood.
Mariyah Guthrie advertises free food, drinks and essentials, alongside her relative Dolly, on Saturday, May 16, 2025, in the Academy neighborhood of ӣƵ.
"I had just said a prayer before it happened: Lord, please protect these people, please protect us," said homeowner Stella Hunt, 70, who cleans up her former two-story home along the 4500 block of ӣƵ Place on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Greater Ville neighborhood. Hunt has lived the Greater Ville for most of her life.
Adrian Abernethy helps remove a tree that destroyed his neighbor's garage and car on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy Neighborhood. Friday afternoon a tornado damaged several neighborhoods across the ӣƵ metro area.
Workers tarp the roof of the Memorial Presbyterian Church, in the 200 block of South Skinker Boulevard, near sheared off trees lining the west side of Forest Park, on Saturday, May 17, 2025 after a tornado the day before.
A person inside a car somehow survived a massive oak tree smashing her vehicle as she sat in the 300 block of North Skinker Blvd. near Forest Park Parkway as a tornado ripped through parts of ӣƵ on Friday, May 16, 2025, killing 5, and causing widespread destruction from Clayton to north ӣƵ. People out walking in the Parkview neighborhood surveyed the damage on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
A damaged original stained-glass window from 1925 sits inside the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center, in the 200 block of South Skinker Blvd. just west of Forest Park, on Saturday, May 17, 2025, after the building was hit by winds from a tornado the day before. Jody Sowell, President and CEO, said no artifacts were damaged in either this building or the Missouri History Museum, both of which had minor roof damage. This building was formerly a synagogue.
A damaged original stained-glass window from 1925 sits inside the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center, in the 200 block of South Skinker Boulevard just west of Forest Park, on Saturday, May 17, 2025, after the building was hit by winds from a tornado the day before. Jody Sowell, President and CEO, said no artifacts were damaged in either this building or the Missouri History Museum, both of which had minor roof damage.
Ryan Green of Rogers Construction helps board up a stained-glass window in the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center in the 200 block of South Skinker Boulevard just west of Forest Park on Saturday, May 17, 2025, after a tornado the day before. President and CEO Jody Sowell said no artifacts were damaged in either this building or the Missouri History Museum, both of which had minor roof damage.
"My house is just gone and it was beautiful," said Curtis McGrath, who removes a chests from his home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy Neighborhood. Friday afternoon a tornado damaged several neighborhoods across the ӣƵ metro area.
"My house is just gone and it was beautiful," said Curtis McGrath, who retrieves some personal papers, photos and clothes from his home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Academy Neighborhood. Friday afternoon a tornado damaged several neighborhoods across the ӣƵ metro area.
