State shuts down pumps at Phillips 66 in Warsaw after complaints of gas causing car damage

WARSAW, Ind. (WNDU) - On Sunday, multiple customers said they filed complaints of car trouble after pumping gas at the Phillips 66 in Warsaw.

On Monday, the State sent the county’s weights and measures inspector, who found 8 inches of water in one of the gas storage tanks and tagged the pumps to indicate they were shut down.

“I didn’t think this was a possibility that could happen with getting gas. I figured gas is just gas, you put it in your car and you’re on your way,” said Isabelle Dittmar, a 20-year-old resident that says she put $20 worth of the gas into her car on Saturday, having no idea she had filled her tank with water.

“After I got gas, I made it about a mile down the road and about a mile from my house and my car started sputtering. I wasn’t able to accelerate past ten miles per hour,” Dittmar said.

According to the 20-year-old, she called her parents, who told her to get home as quickly as possible.

“And then as soon as I got home, they told me to shut my car off, and maybe turn it back on try again, and then once I shut my car off, it hasn’t turned back on since,” Dittmar said.

According to employees of Phillips 66 on Center Street, they had no idea there was something wrong with the gas they were selling until complaints rolled in on Sunday morning.

“We were really surprised, we didn’t know there was something going on with the pump,” said Phillips 66 employee, Russell MD.

Russell told 16 News Now that as soon as they had learned that there was water in the tank that was damaging people’s cars, he did all that he could and shut off the pumps.

“So that’s what we did. Stop the gas so that people can’t buy it anymore. That’s the only access we have,” Russell said.

The State inspector tagged the pumps with red tags reading, “condemned until repaired and sealed.”

According to Dittmar, quite a few others shared online that they also now will be stuck without a car for the holiday after gassing up at the station.

“I did some research online looking up reviews of the gas station, typing into Facebook certain things and I came across a post from somebody else that said do not get gas from here. Their car had also stopped working,” Dittmar said.

Dittmar told 16 News Now that she hoped a responsible party will come forward and take responsibility for the damage that has been done.

According to employees, with the Thanksgiving holiday, it will take until early next week for the problem to be resolved and for them to be able to get back to selling gas.

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