A gas station mix-up has caused thousands of dollars in repair bills to customers who thought they were pumping premium gasoline, according to reports.
Local inspectors said a fuel company had accidentally pumped hundreds of gallons of premium gas into an underground diesel tank at a Cape Cop station in Massachusetts. The snafu last month resulted in about 150 gallons being sold before the mistake was discovered, authorities said.
The Barnstable Weights and Measures department, which monitors local fuel pumps, said Brown Bear Transportation had accidentally pumped diesel into the premium gasoline reservoir, and vice-versa, according to WFXT-TV.
The snafu occurred as diesel prices soared to their highest price in history. This week, the fuel cost surpassed $6 per gallon.
Jacqueline Rutkowski-Murgia’s tank was filled with she thought was premium gas, the station reported. But then her 2019 Range Rover started acting strange.
“I thought, there’s something wrong with this vehicle. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something wrong,” Rutkowski-Murgia told the station. “I noticed that when I was pressing the accelerator, the car didn’t seem to be responding correctly. And it’s a newer car.”
The woman said she eventually stopped her vehicle. “The car became undrivable to the point where I thought about calling for roadside assistance,” Rutkowski-Murgia said. “At that point, there was black smoke, and my engine light had come on already. I thought perhaps the engine was going to seize, that everything would lock up. And I was afraid my driving the vehicle any further would be damage further to the car, and also a danger to other drivers.”
She later received a repair bill for $4,500, she said.
The fuel company returned to the station and pumped out the diesel and gas tanks, cleaned them, and refilled them correctly, authorities said. The firm has said it will work with vehicle owners affected by the mix-up.
