SC testing finds contaminated diesel at Sandy Run station after 25 complaints

SANDY RUN, S.C. (WIS) - State testing found contaminated diesel fuel at a Sandy Run gas station after the South Carolina Department of Agriculture received 25 complaints from customers, according to the agency.

The complaints center on Roady’s Truck Stop, a BP affiliate off Exit 125 on Interstate 26 in Sandy Run.

Eva Moore with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture said the agency was able to validate 13 of the 25 complaints by calling customers back directly.

“We received 25 complaints about the fuel for sale at this station, and we were able to validate 13 of those complaints by calling back and speaking with those customers,” Moore said. “We sent out an inspector to the station to pull samples of fuel. We brought that back to our lab.”

Moore said testing showed the regular fuel being sold at the time samples were collected passed inspection, but the diesel did not.

“Our tests show that the regular fuel for sale at the time we pulled the samples, it passed our tests,” Moore said. “However, we found that the diesel fuel did not. It had a low flash point, which basically means that it was contaminated with something.”

Moore said the Department of Agriculture stopped the sale of all fuel at the station as a precaution when inspectors arrived. Now that testing is complete, the agency says regular gas can be sold again, but diesel sales remain stopped.

“When we went out and pulled the samples, we, as a precaution, stopped sale of all fuel at the station,” Moore said. “We put a hold on the sale of any fuel. Now that we have these test results, we will be opening back up sale of regular fuel at the station, but there is a stopped sale on diesel. That station is not allowed to sell diesel.”

Neighbor Troy Prevatte said his son started having trouble with his truck after filling up at the station Friday morning.

“My son got gas Friday morning at 5:15 to help his granddad do some yard work, and he called me an hour later and said he was having issues with his truck,” Prevatte said. “It’s not running properly.”

Prevatte said he later noticed what he believed was diesel contamination and said the truck’s condition worsened.

“But when he got home, we opened the tank up and I smelled a hint of diesel in it,” Prevatte said. “The truck ran, we ran it down the road and got some fuel treatment and it just won’t even run at all now.”

He also said he saw other customers dealing with similar issues and showed WIS video he said appeared to show people pulling fuel from pumps over the weekend as concerns spread.

“We went by the station multiple times, talked to cashiers, and I was complaining,” Prevatte said. “I said, ‘I think y’all have diesel in your gasoline.’ ... They took my name and number down, and they have a running list of other customers that had similar issues.”

Prevatte said the issue has caused transportation problems for his family.

“Well, it’s left me in a bind because my son had to borrow my vehicle,” he said. “I had to borrow my grandmother’s vehicle just to even get to work, so my son could get to school.”

Moore said the department provides both the station and consumers with a report on what inspectors find. She said the agency tests fuel in response to complaints and also conducts random testing.

She added that when inspectors arrived at the station, an environmental cleanup company was already on site doing work.

“So, if there was a problem previously, it may have already been fixed,” Moore said. “All we know is that it tested, it passed the test as of today. However, the diesel in a different tank did not pass the test.”

WIS reached out to Calhoun Oil Company, which owns the station. The company has said it plans to communicate with customers if tests confirm contamination.

The Department of Agriculture said people who filed complaints, along with the station, will receive the agency’s findings.

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