By GEORGE KUNKE, geoakunke@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 4, 2022 2:47 pm

Photo by George Kunke - Here's what's left of the pump at Galey's Grocery after it was smashed into by a driver last Tuesday (Dec. 28). At press time, it was not known when Galey's would be able to offer gasoline again.

A vehicle slammed into a gas pump at Galey's Grocery last Tuesday (Dec. 28) at mid-afternoon causing the pump to burst into flames and be totally destroyed. The driver was driving eastbound on Route 6 when he turned left into Galey's and rammed into an ice machine and then struck the gasoline pump near the doorway to the store. The impact of the collision caused the pump to land some 20 feet from its original place, while aflame.

Phil Hatfield, an employee of the store, was working at the time (2:30 pm) of the episode. Hatfield alertly grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the flames out and called 911.

"There were flames coming out of where the pump was," Hatfield recalled. "The pump was laying there on fire. I put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. The fire department put the rest of it out with another fire extinguisher."

Fortunately, the pump's emergency shutoff system worked to prevent a potentially disastrous explosion. "If there was a person there gassing up, they could have been killed," Hatfield said.

The Pacific County Fire District 3 responded with one truck and eight firemen. "A couple of volunteers, Bryce Nissell and Jon Ashley, extinguished the fire," Fire District Chief Gary Schwiesow told the Herald. "A small extinguisher was used on it and we found a bigger extinguisher and finished knocking it down. We were there for maybe 10 minutes."

Hatfield said the camera in Galey's video recorded the incident.

"Initially, they (he) took off," Hatfield said of the driver. "They (sheriff deputy) tracked him down really quick."

A Pacific County Sheriff's Office deputy located the driver. The matter is currently under investigation, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Matlock
"I have reviewed the investigating deputy's report and it is still active and not complete yet," Matlock told the Herald Monday morning. "I do know that the deputy contacted a person whom he believes to be the driver and the vehicle involved. At this time I don't know if the driver suffered some type of impairment or if it was caused by inclement weather. No citation has been issued as of yet; however, the results of the investigation may yield charges filed with the prosecuting attorney. Also, the suspect was not booked into jail as far as I can tell."