A high-end car caught fire after colliding with a fuel dispenser at a petrol bunk on Bengaluru-Hosur Road in Attibele at around 11 pm on Wednesday, injuring a bunk employee and prompting police to take the driver into custody, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
The vehicle was reportedly being driven by a man identified as Sanjay, a resident of Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru. Deccan Chronicle reported that he was allegedly in an inebriated condition when he entered the petrol bunk to refuel. The report said another passenger, a girl, was also in the car and escaped after the collision.
According to the report, the car was third in line for refuelling when a staff member asked the driver whether he wanted petrol or diesel. The vehicle then suddenly moved forward and struck the fuel dispensing machine. The impact uprooted the machine, which fell on a staff member identified as Gundu Kumar.
Kumar sustained injuries to his head and legs, the report said. It added that the driver may have pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, although this remained a preliminary suspicion and was not presented as an established finding.
A spark was seen after the collision, triggering a fire in the vehicle. Petrol-bunk personnel attempted to control the flames but were unable to contain them, according to an eyewitness cited by Deccan Chronicle. Passers-by recorded the burning car on their mobile phones before fire-force personnel arrived and extinguished the blaze.
The report said Sanjay attempted to leave the site after the fire began but was stopped by petrol-bunk staff, who handed him over to the police. The staff member quoted in the report confirmed that two people had been travelling in the car.
The incident highlights the immediate risks that arise when a collision occurs around fuel dispensing equipment, where a vehicle impact can damage infrastructure and create a fire hazard within an active refuelling area. The account supplied by Deccan Chronicle does not provide details of the vehicle’s speed, the extent of damage to the fuel station, or whether any fuel leakage occurred.
Police action against the driver and the treatment of the injured petrol-bunk employee are the next reported steps in the case. Further details, including the findings of any medical examination or investigation into the collision, were not available in the supplied report.
