Truck driver faces prison sentence for illegal acts at gas station: ‘Disgusting, simply disgusting’
A New Jersey truck driver has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for illegally dumping thousands of gallons of gasoline into Pennsylvania.
This incident is a reminder of how careless decisions can cause major and lasting environmental damage.
A 2021 spill in Brookhaven contaminated nearby soil and waterways, killed wildlife, and even forced the local Coebourn Elementary School to close for the remainder of the school year. Patch.
George Smith, 41, had filled his tanker with 8,500 gallons of gasoline that day, according to Delaware County authorities.
Although the Brookhaven station was supposed to be his fourth stop, he hurriedly went there first. But the station’s underground tanks could only store so much, and a safety measure in the fuel truck prevents drivers from refilling any remaining gas in the fuel compartments.
Rather than making a partial delivery elsewhere to dump the remainder, Smith decided to dump the fuel into a 4,000-gallon levee.
Surveillance footage and functioning warning alarms all confirmed the incident, and prosecutors said Smith was “motivated by a desire to accelerate his route.”
But Smith’s haste caused damage that will likely last years and require large amounts of taxpayer funding to clean up.
The spill caused immediate ecological damage. Emergency crews and environmental agencies found dead fish, eels and a fox in the contaminated area.
The cleanup required removing large amounts of gasoline-soaked soil; this was a process that could take months or years for an area to become stable again.
Transporting contaminated fuels carries significant risk when oversight fails or shortcuts are taken. Similar pollution events, from pipeline leaks to industrial runoff, negatively impact nearby communities and ecosystems.
But the public can hold companies accountable by: take local action and get information about critical climate issues.
People online were outraged at the driver’s carelessness.
One YouTube the commenter wrote: “This is irresponsible behavior as a human being.”
Another said: “Disgusting, just disgusting.”
A third summed it up by describing Smith’s actions as “Unbelievable.”
Get TCDs free newsletters Earn up to $5,000 in TCD-exclusive clean upgrades for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices Reward Club.
