Truckers hauling fuel into Las Vegas are discussing the possibility of skipping the deliveries altogether if police don’t do something about street racers blocking the refinery.
The drivers responsible for picking up fuel at the UNEV refinery outside of the Apex industrial park in North Las Vegas, Nevada say that they are being put in unnecessary danger by street racers doing “high-performance maneuvers” along the only access road to the facility. Truckers like Jim Delliplaine have contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, but say officers have done little to address the situation.
“Why here? They’ve got the wide-open spot. They’re out in the middle of the desert. No police,” said Delliplaine of the reasoning behind the choice of location.
“They’re doing around 50 miles an hour out here just drifting and if they blow a tire, they’re going to run into the crowd and kill people,” he continued. “We don’t want to hit anybody… We just want to do our job.”
Delliplaine says that, even if police do show up, the street racers are always one step ahead.
“They hear what’s going on, and then they take off. Metro shows up, there’s nobody here,” he said to ABC 13 News.
Another driver who frequents the facility, Jamie Stevens, says that even the debris left in the roadway from the illegal racers can cause trouble for drivers.
“If a driver encounters that debris while he’s loaded and he’s upwards of 100,000 pounds or 80,000 pounds, it’s definitely going to do some damage… Every day we drive, we have a risk to our lives, but this is a type of risk we don’t want to put up with and be involved with.”
“They’re talking right now. Drivers talking of not delivering fuel into Las Vegas until this is resolved. That means no gas stations will get any fuel,” Delliplaine said.
“Go find another place. Don’t do it here because there’s a big safety issue here.”