Officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are looking for the identity of a driver who they say is involved in a diesel fuel oil spill in Buellton on June 19.
According to Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, the Sheriff’s Office said a person driving a light-colored Chevrolet SUV pulled into Buellton from southbound Highway 101 around 12:15 a.m. and left an unregistered trailer carrying nine 55-gallon barrels of red diesel fuel at the corner of Kendale and Odense.
Hoover said the driver noticed that the barrels were leaking and allegedly fled the scene. Later, the contents of at least one barrel leaked onto the road and into a storm drain, which leads to the Santa Ynez River. The Sheriff’s Office said it does not know how much fuel leaked into the storm drain.
The Sheriff’s Office released a surveillance video that shows a person apparently driving a white SUV carrying a trailer, getting out, and attempting to unhitch the trailer.
Not much else is known about the driver, but according to Hoover, evidence obtained by police indicates that the fuel was worth around $1,800 and possibly stolen from an agricultural or industrial user.
The Sheriff’s Office is requesting that farms or businesses that maintain red diesel fuel barrels check their inventory and report any missing fuel. The Sheriff’s Office is also asking for help from the public identifying the vehicle or the driver. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 683-2724 or leave an anonymous tip at 681-4171.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2015.
