Minivan left gas station with ‘highly illegal’ 285-gallon load of diesel, Calif. cops say

Highway patrol officers warned a Northern California man not to leave a gas station with his minivan loaded with five barrels of diesel fuel.

But the driver did anyway, and it got him arrested, Oroville area officers wrote on Facebook Friday.

“We understand fuel prices are going up, but this is not the way to stock up on fuel,” officers wrote. “Driver arrested and vehicle impounded.”

Highway patrol described the situation as “highly illegal and dangerous,” and said the arrest resulted in a “hazmat situation avoided.” The man arrested was not identified. Highway patrol did not immediately respond to McClatchy’s request for more information.

The containers in the back of the van were carrying a total of 285 gallons of diesel, officers said. Photos highway patrol shared on Facebook show the fuel cost nearly $1,000.

Some Facebook commenters were critical of highway patrol and questioned whether the driver’s hauling method was really against the law.

One asked how it was a hazmat situation, saying “I carry 250 gallons in my semi truck all the time and it’s not hazmat.” Another commenter wrote that “I’m willing to bet that they watched him fill the containers and pay the clerk before they busted him. Want to bet the diesel bill for Oroville CHP goes down for a bit there?”

A couple hours later, highway patrol added a new post with an update on the arrest.

“The reason the driver transporting the diesel was arrested is because when we first contacted him we gave him a verbal yet lawful order not to transport that much fuel,” officers explained, adding that authorities “provided him resources to help him transport the fuel. He was told not to move the vehicle from the fuel station until the vehicle was in compliance.”

But when officers left the gas station, the man drove away as well and got pulled over, according to officers.

“He was arrested for disobeying a lawful order,” officers said. “Hope this clears things up.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Minivan left gas station with ‘highly illegal’ 285-gallon load of diesel, Calif. cops say."