State police are searching for the driver of an auto who caused about $16,000 damage to two fuel pumps at Piper's Wine & Spirit Barn near Manchester on Tuesday night.
"The pumps were sheared off at the surface, and the fuel pipes were bent down in the ground," said William A. Chenoweth Jr., owner of the gas station and spirit shop.
Only a small amount of fuel in the hoses of the two pumps leaked, and inspectors from the Maryland Department of the Environment were notified. All of the shut-off valves worked properly, Mr. Chenoweth said.
Police said a teen-age passenger in a maroon 1970s Oldsmobile came into the store and paid $5 for gasoline. The manager said the youth returned to the vehicle and that the driver quickly accelerated, causing the rear wheels to spin.
The driver lost control of the Oldsmobile, and the back of the car struck a metal pole and bounced into the two fuel pumps, ripping the diesel pump off at the surface and destroying the kerosene pump, the store owner said. Both pumps have electronic and computer connections inside the store.
Police said the driver sped onto busy Hanover Pike in the wrong lane and into the path of a large truck, and that the driver of the truck swerved to avoid a collision.
The Oldsmobile was last seen headed south on Route 30 toward Manchester.
FIRE
* Hampstead: Hampstead responded to an auto fire in the 38800 block of Hampstead-Mexico Road at 7:53 a.m. Thursday. Units were out for 20 minutes.