ALTON – A gas pump was dislodged and knocked to the ground at the Hit N' Run located on State Street in Alton just before noon Tuesday.
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A 2000s maroon Ford Expedition appeared to have backed into the gas pump late Tuesday morning while exiting the parking lot, causing the pump to dislodge and fall to the parking lot. Minimal damage was done to the vehicle, and minimal danger was put upon the general populace, Alton Fire Chief Bernie Sebold said to reporters Tuesday.
“These pumps have emergency shut-offs for these exact situations,” he said. “In this case, they did exactly what they were supposed to do, and shut off when the pump was knocked over. The staff inside the store also pressed the emergency shut-off for the electrical system as soon as it happened, which secured it even more. We have a tool out there now to check and make sure everything worked as it was supposed to, but it seemed like it did. Only a few drops of gasoline actually got out of there.”
Unlike movie and video game portrayals of gas stations exploding at a simple tap of a pump with a car, built-in safety redundancies and proper protocol implemented by store staff ensured everyone's safety in this situation. Sebold credited both the pump's manufacturers and the quick work of the staff for the overall safety of what appeared to be an ominous situation.
The area was quarantined with yellow caution tape as a precaution as first responders worked to secure the area further.
No charges have been released regarding the incident at this time, and the driver's name has not been released. It is not known when the pumps will be in working order again, but the store itself remained open following the incident.Steven Spencer also contributed to this story.
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