Gas station hears from 20 drivers in BP gas, diesel mixup

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

UPDATE @ 12:35 p.m. (May 9)

George Abboudhi, regional manager for Giant Oil that owns the gas station, confirmed Monday that diesel had dropped into the regular tank. He called it an “honest mistake” by a transport driver.

Abboudhi said the mixed up gas was only available for about three hours. He added they have gotten complaints from about 20 drivers.

EARLIER REPORT

Two Huber Heights residents said their cars broke down after filling up their tanks at the Troy Pike BP station.

Billy King and Tonia Schuttinger are among numerous people who took to Facebook and other social media sites this weekend to complain about diesel fuel flowing through the gasoline pumps. On Sunday, a worker at the BP at 7888 Troy Pike confirmed there was a problem with diesel in the gas lines and said it would be fixed the following day.

RELATED: 3 Things: What happens when you put diesel into a gas car?

Billy King said he was on his way to work Saturday when his car’s fuel light illuminated.

“I stopped at the BP and I put $25 in gas, which is about 12 gallons,” he said. “When I got to work, it just died on me right in the parking lot. I kept trying to start it, white smoke was coming out the back,” he said.

Schuttinger was the first person to post a message about the gas problem on the Everything Huber Facebook page. On Saturday morning she pumped $37 worth of gas and got on Interstate 70. She only made it to the Ohio 4 exit before her car stopped. She was stranded for an hour before her new car, a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, could be towed to the dealer.

“I brought a brand-new car so I didn’t have to experience not being able to take my daughter to school to get to work,” Schuttinger said. The service department discovered diesel in the gas tank, and said it will cost between $300 and $400 to drain the tank, but could cost $1,000 if damage is found when it’s repaired on Monday, she said.

King called his mechanic friend Adam Leeper, who figured out what happened.

“I had seen some of the same concerns on social media from people in the area,” Leeper said. “I proceeded to take a fuel sample and see and noticed there was diesel fuel instead of gasoline in it.”

King’s car needed about $700 worth of work to fix the problem.

“We removed the fuel tank from the vehicle and had to completely drain all the diesel fuel out of it,” Leeper said.

King and Schuttinger both said they used the pumps marked gasoline, and both called BP to report what happened.

“(The worker) told me he had had seven prior calls already about it and he took my name and number, and told me the manager would call me the next day, which he did not,” King said.

Schuttinger said the station told her they would reimburse her for the gas, but they gave her a corporate number regarding repair costs.

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