Drivers in North Carolina were left enraged after many commuters’ worst nightmare at the pump - a station mistakenly stored diesel in a regular gas tank, leading drivers to fill up on the wrong fuel.
A couple of dozen drivers were left stranded at a Speedway gas station in Wake Forest, a suburb of Raleigh, on June 2, and are now facing costly repairs after filling up on diesel while thinking they were getting normal gasoline, according to WRAL.
"This was no fault of none of ours," customer Brenda Small told the outlet. "We were getting gas. Everyone was planning on going home after they got their gas. Didn't happen like that."
It remains unclear what happened to all of the drivers or how they managed to get home. Some customers, including Small, said they relied on rental vehicles while their cars were repaired.
"The guy put the diesel in the wrong tank in the ground, so we're all pumping what we thought was 87,” Small added. "We were pumping diesel in our vehicles."
Diesel fuel is typically used for large vehicles, such as semi-trucks and buses as it is thicker and offers better gas mileage. But it burns more slowly and hurts acceleration. When Diesel is put into a car that takes regular gas, it can stop the vehicle from starting and damage the engine.
The extent of the damage — and the subsequent repair costs — depend on whether or not a driver turned their car on. Mechanics typically just drain and clean the gas tank if the car remained off. But if a driver turned the engine on, their car could require more expensive repairs, such as flushing the fuel line or replacing parts. Those repairs can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services sent an inspector to Speedway to investigate the incident, according to WRAL. It remains unclear exactly how the mix-up happened.
State inspector Valerie Thoms told the outlet she’s now testing to ensure the gas station properly cleaned its regular gas tank, and that there’s no diesel fuel left over.
"We want to make sure that the cleanup job has been sufficient enough," she said.
Small told WRAL a Speedway representative said the company will reimburse her for towing and repairs, but declined to pay for the rental car she relied on and other transportation costs.
The Independent has contacted Speedway and its parent company, 7-Eleven, for comment. The Independent has also reached out to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for more information about its investigation.
