Veazie gas pumps closed after hose torn

Members of the Department of Environmental Protection were called to the Veazie Variety gas station Thursday night after 10 to 15 gallons of gasoline sprayed from a gas pump when a driver forgot to take the pump’s nozzle out of her car’s gas tank before driving off just before 8 p.m.

Louise Trimble, 52, of Sebec drove her blue 1989 Mercedes Benz forward, ripping the hose from the gas pump, Veazie police Officer Todd Jamison said. After noticing the spraying gas she stopped her vehicle and backed up to prevent other cars from driving into the gasoline.

Initially, officials feared that more than 30 gallons of gas had sprayed from the pump, but later they reduced estimates after most of the spill had been contained, Veazie fire Capt. Peter Metcalf said. Some of the gasoline may have reached local sewer drainage and grass areas.

Members of DEP were en route to the gas station Thursday night.

The hose tore off above an emergency cutoff valve, which is designed for such events, Metcalf said. Ann Perry, a cashier working in Veazie Variety, noticed the spraying gas and shut off the pump from inside the store.

“It was just like somebody taking a hose and spraying it,” Perry said. “I turned off the pump as soon as I noticed it.”

No one was injured in the accident and the car did not appear to be damaged, Jamison said. No charges were expected to be filed.

The gas pumps remained closed for most of Thursday night. No estimate of the damage and cleanup costs was available.

Police continued to investigate the theft of a pair of aluminum ramps Thursday night.

A 41-year-old man told police around noon Thursday that someone had taken a pair of aluminum ramps from the back of his 1995 Chevrolet truck while it was parked at 99 Boutelle Road between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Bangor police Officer Allen Hayden said.

The ramps were valued at $160.

Two people were hospitalized with minor injuries after an accident on Finson Road in Bangor on Wednesday evening.

Katrina Sinclair, 24, of Brewer was driving her black 1994 Chevrolet sport utility vehicle north on Finson Road when a maroon 2002 Saturn sedan driven by Julie Thayer, 24, of Bangor ran a stop sign at the end of Bald Mountain Drive and struck the SUV, Bangor police Officer Allen Hayden said. Sinclair, who complained of neck pain, and Robert Hazelton, 15, who was riding with Sinclair, complained of pain in his abdomen.

The two were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center where they were treated and then released, Hayden said.

Thayer was not injured. All three had been wearing their seat belts. Damage to each of the cars was estimated at $3,000. Thayer told police she was not familiar with the area and never noticed the stop sign.

A pair of digital cameras valued at around $500 were taken from the Media Works computer lab at the Penobscot Job Corps center between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1, school officials told Bangor police Thursday.

School officials searched the school and interviewed students but were unable to locate the two Olympus digital cameras, police said.

Police continued to investigate the thefts Monday night.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Derek Breton