Diesel theft leads to hit-and-run
Originally published 11:37 a.m., July 31, 2008
Updated 04:31 p.m., July 31, 2008
At approximately 9:35 Thursday morning, a man was seen pumping diesel fuel meant for school buses into a pickup truck at the Durham School Services facility at 200 SE 21st St.
Durham mechanics were unloading barrels of oil at the time and confronted the man. He got into the pickup and rammed a gate that Durham employees attempted to close.
Location of theft
In doing so, he ran over a Durham employee who was walking toward the gate. The male employee was struck and thrown several feet by the impact. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
The man had pumped about $75 of diesel into the truck when he was discovered.
The suspect was last seen leaving the area in a silver Dodge pick-up. The suspect is described as a white man, about 5’8” with dark hair, last seen wearing a black shirt.
The pickup, which may be a stolen vehicle, had ladders on the side like you would see on a construction vehicle.
The bus company is taking extra precautions to avoid more gas thefts.
In addition to locking the gates and shutting down the bus pumps, the company will park a bus in front of the locked gates.
Members of the sheriff's department just recovered a truck matching the description.
The driver got away.
Durham is the bus company which transport students in Topeka Public Schools.
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Topeka Police (non-emergency): (785) 368-9400
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Information for this story provided by USD 501, Topeka Police media releases.
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