Trucker flattens fuel island & speeds away, leaving small gas station in the dust

A truck driver made a miscalculated turnaround that completely destroyed a diesel pump in Nebraska this week, leaving a small gas station without diesel fuel. 

According to 6 News, the semi truck sped through the parking lot of a Merchant of Venice gas station in Waterloo and pulled through the fuel island but miscalculated the turn, tearing the diesel pump from its base and narrowly avoiding an explosion or leak. 

“I hear a boom boom boom,” Merchant of Venice store manager Heather Holtz said.

“I said a couple of swear words, but I just ran out, and he was going pretty fast for going through this parking lot,” she said.

While a potentially explosive situation, luckily the diesel pump broke off right above the automatic shut off valve, preventing any further, more serious damage. 

Despite the obvious damage, the trucker kept driving until he was forced to wait for traffic, at which point the store manager caught up to him and told him to stop. 

“And he looked back at the pumps and said oh bleep, and I said you need to come back and he nodded and started rolling up his window and he went onto the highway and he was gone,” Holz said.

“I literally stood with my hands up and like are you kidding me?” 

The owner of the gas station, Travis Harlow, says he was able to get the company name of the truck after enhancing some surveillance footage. He called the company and was able to locate the truck, which was parked at a truck stop 25 miles away. Douglas County deputies then confronted the 56-year-old driver from Amarillo, Texas and cited him for fleeing the scene of a property damage accident. 

The officers also collected the driver’s insurance information, so Harlow will be able to submit a claim for damage, but for now, the store will be unable to offer diesel to other drivers for at least a couple of weeks. 

Merchant of Venice owner Travis Harlow said he enhanced the video to get the truck company name, called them, and got the location of the semi parked at a truck stop 25 miles away. He said Douglas County deputies confronted the 56-year-old Texas truck driver and cited him for leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

The hit-and-run left the store manager a bewildered witness.

“I literally stood with my hands up and like are you kidding me?” he said.

Harlow said deputies obtained the driver’s insurance information, so he’ll submit a claim for the damage. In the meantime, the popular store can’t pump diesel for a couple of weeks.