Stranded customers got angry Wednesday afternoon after they say a gas station on Kelley Highway sold watered down gasoline. Fort Smith police were called in as nearly half a dozen drivers were forced to find a ride home.
Customers claim Sunshine #7 sold them bad fuel. “It looks like milk,” said Leonora Shirey, a customer, “So we’re stopping people at the door telling them this is what you’re buying.”
Shirey says her husband’s car broke down after he filled up. Other customers say the same thing happened to them. “I pulled in here to put some gas in my car and as I drove off maybe two, two and a half feet my car just died on me,” said Jamey Smith, a customer, “Said boom boom boom and just died out on me.”
A store employee admits they had water in the tank, but says he does not know how it got there. “We’re getting checked out what’s wrong with it, then we’re gonna fix their cars and whatever it takes to get it solved,” said Imran Khlid, a store employee.
It rained for several days in Fort Smith. Workers say the gas problem could be weather related, but they are not sure.
Tow trucks hauled off vehicles. “It’s very upsetting to think you’re paying for cheap gas and it’s not really gas,” said Leanna Babineaux.
The current price for gas at the station is $3.57