Los Angeles news outlets have reported an SUV backed into a gas pump at a local gas station, causing a fuel spill so hazardous that local residents were advised to stay indoors and close their windows.
Surveillance video from a 76 gas station in Pasadena, CA on December 19 shows a Volkswagen Tiguan backing into a gas pump as it was trying to leave around three in the afternoon. As it pulls away, you can see the gas flowing right out of the now damaged pump.
The driver at least did the proper thing and let the station attendant know what happened. Another person reported the leak as well.
The fire department arrived on the scene and attempted to stop the fuel from leaking. As luck would have it, the station emergency shut-off system malfunctioned.
The leaking fuel eventually made its way into local storm drains and the area’s wash (or tributary of the Rio Hondo River). Mounting concerns from the gas in the wash had officials advising residents to stay inside. From the L.A. Times:
The gas flowed into the storm drain and made its way into the Alhambra Wash, a channelized tributary of the Rio Hondo River that runs southeast from the city of Alhambra to the Whittier Narrows, according to officials in that city. Residents bordering the Alhambra Wash are advised to stay indoors and close all windows.
Luckily, local city officials say the fuel never made it to the ocean. Crews were finally able to shut the fuel off later that night and stop the leak, but the lingering smell of gas remained into the next day. Local hazmat teams facilitated the cleanup while LA County officials were handling the cleanup of the storm drain runoff. At least LA County has had a lot of practice in cleaning up fuel spills, as last year they attended to at least 10 diesel and gas spills in the county.