ENCINITAS — A beloved roadside produce seller who has been a staple in the Olivenhain community for nearly two decades is still recovering in the hospital following a vehicle collision last month.
Gerardo Rivera, 68, of Vista, has sold fruit along Rancho Santa Fe Road near Sun Vista Park on Saturdays and every other Friday for at least the last 15 years or longer, according to his son, Noe Rivera.
His business, Rivera Produce, picks and sells strawberries grown in Vista and avocados, tangerines and oranges from a farm on the Pala Reservation.
In early July, after returning from a trip to Mexico, his father drove out to the Pala farm to let them know he was back to work. At approximately 1:22 p.m. on July 10, Rivera’s red pickup truck collided with a black BMW sedan on state Route 76.
Rivera sustained severe injuries in the incident and, since then, has been in the intensive care unit at Palomar Hospital in Escondido.
According to his son, Rivera sustained trauma to his left occipital lobe, which has affected movement in his right eye and right arm. He also has several injuries in his back, recently had neck surgery and was taken off a ventilator that was helping him to breathe last week.
Noe Rivera said his father only recently regained consciousness to realize he was in the hospital.
“The reality is the recovery is going to be a long time,” Noe Rivera said.
Since the accident, his son has started a GoFundMe campaign, raising $4,115 so far to help pay his father’s medical bills. Noe has also stepped in to sell produce in his father’s usual spot in Olivenhain, near the Carlsbad border.
Rivera has built up an impressive reputation among community members with an established list of dedicated customers who always return for his fruits.
“I don’t really do much, I just show up,” Noe Rivera said. “They’re all his customers.”
While the produce is still showing up on time as usual, many customers have noticed Gerardo Rivera’s absence and are hoping for a full recovery of their beloved “strawberry man,” as Olivenhain resident Cheri Schroeder calls him.
Schroeder, who has bought strawberries from Rivera for more than 20 years, said the strawberry man has been part of the fabric of the community for years.
“They’re better than anything you get in the stores,” she said of his strawberries. “He always has a smile for everybody. When my kids were in elementary school, he’d always be there on Fridays to give them a free strawberry.
When she heard what happened to him, she immediately began to let other neighbors know.
“He’s definitely well thought of and loved,” she said. “The more people who pray for him the better.”
Noe Rivera has set up a GoFundMe page to help with upcoming medical bills and support for his mother, Laura, while her husband is recovering in the hospital.
After stepping in for his dad, Noe Rivera has seen how much his father is loved by the community he serves.
“I knew he was loved, but I didn’t know how much,” he said.
While his father can’t speak just yet, he has started physical therapy, and his awareness has improved along with his spirits.
“He’s more alert and he smiles now,” Noe said.
