HIT-AND-RUN, FLAMES COST GAS STATION BULK OF ITS BUSINESS HELP SOUGHT FINDING DRIVER WHO RAN WHEN FIRE BROKE OUT.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Darvish Staff Writer NEWHALL - The pickup truck that sparked a fire at a gas station after slamming into a gas pump Saturday still sits in a charred heap beside pump No. 3 three, a grim reminder why business has dropped more than 80 percent. Gevork Takesyan, manager of the Mobil station on San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the , said Tuesday the mini mart, propane tanks and diesel pumps remain open for business, but all six pumps of unleaded gasoline - the bread and butter for any gas station - are out of commission. ``Four of the pumps, destroyed. We have to get all new. The last two, they need at least repairs,'' Takesyan said. ``Nobody is coming here. Our business has gone down a lot.'' Shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, a green Chevrolet pickup carrying two men and a woman pulled up to a pump, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. employees who witnessed the event. Perhaps because the gas cap was located on the opposite side, the driver made a fast break to a pump on the next island and crashed into the fuel pump Fuel pump A mechanical or electrical pump for drawing fuel from a storage tank and forcing it to an engine or furnace. The type of pump chosen for a given fuel depends to a great extent on the volatility of the liquid to be pumped. . Takesyan said the trio exited the truck moments before the flames engulfed the canopy and other pumps. After assuring the two employees on duty that they were not hurt, the three would-be customers disappeared, authorities said. Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La arrived within minutes and put out the blaze. Fire officials estimated the property loss at more than $100,000, according to a sheriff's report. But Takesyan said that number is likely much higher. He will not know until his insurance company investigates. He said the canopy cost $40,000 in 1997 and he estimated that each new pump, not including installation, will cost about $16,000. The 1991 truck is registered to a Saugus resident, according to records at the Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. . Anyone with information about the hit-and-run crash and fire is asked to call the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, sheriff's station at (661) 255-1121. Amy Raisin Darvish, (661) 257-5254 amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The truck that slammed into a gas pump, setting off a fire that engulfed the station's canopy and other pumps, is still where the driver left it after fleeing once flames broke out. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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