Mother, daughter die after Philly food truck blast

PHILADELPHIA - A mother and teenage daughter have died of injuries they suffered in a fiery explosion inside their food truck earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.

Jaylin Steffany Landaverry Galdanez, 17, died Tuesday and Olga Galdanez, 42, died Sunday, according to the medical examiner's office. The mother owned the truck.

Both died of burn-related injuries suffered from the July 1 explosion of the La Parrillada Chapina truck in the Feltonville neighborhood of north Philadelphia, said Jeff Moran, a spokesman for the office.

Eleven other people were injured, three critically, in the explosion, which investigators believe was caused by a propane tank leak ignited by cooking grills.

Friends of Jaylin Galdanez and classmates from Little Flower High School gathered Wednesday night for a prayer vigil at the scene.

Teacher Carol Dauerbach told the Philadelphia Daily News that the food truck "was the ticket to their future."

"They worked hard, and they struggled, but they did it joyfully," said Dauerbach, who said the mother often woke up at 3 a.m. to start cooking.

Her daughter often helped at the truck, leaving her with little free time. She hoped to become an obstetrician, friends told the newspaper.

Instead, the bodies will be flown to Guatemala for burial after a funeral Friday, relatives told KYW-TV.

Nearby surveillance video captured the explosion, which was followed by a huge fireball that engulfed the 25-foot truck and set a utility pole on fire.

The truck carried two 100-pound propane tanks to fuel its grills. Both tanks were full and one was in use at the time of the explosion. Investigators believe the leak occurred in the other tank, which was later found nearly 100 feet away.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Philadelphia police detectives and the city fire marshal's office investigated. Messages left with those agencies Thursday by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.