Car catches fire while driver pumps gas
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on February 14, 2017 2:17 PM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Elbert Perry, 60, of Dudley, looks on as Goldsboro Fire Department personnel inspect his car after the vehicle caught fire at a local gas station Tuesday.
A man's car caught on fire as he pumped gas at the Circle K at U.S. 117 and Arrington Bridge Road, Tuesday afternoon.
Elbert Perry, 60, of Dudley, pulled his black Chevrolet Monte Carlo up to pump No. 1 at the gas station and began to pump his gas when the car's engine burst in flames. Perry said he grabbed a jug of water from his car to extinguish the flames.
Goldsboro Fire Captain Vaden Lee said the call came at 12:45 p.m. Lee said Perry told firemen he cranked the car to drive it away from the station, but he only drove a few feet before the flames ignited again.
"He had a fuel leak under the hood," Lee said. "It sprayed on some heated parts and caught on fire."
Lee said the Wayne County Sheriff's Office assisted with putting out the fire before the fire department arrived.
Lee estimated the damages to the car to be around $750.
He said Perry was not injured, and he said there was no property damage to the gas station or pumps.
A friend of Perry's arrived with a truck and trailer to take the car to a repair shop.
"I don't know what I would do without him," Perry said.