CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati driver said a single fill-up at a BP station on Reading Road left her car dead before she could make it home — and she's still waiting for someone to pay for it.
Antoinette Pride, a single mother of two daughters, said she stopped at the BP on Reading Road around 1 a.m. on April 6 on her way home from a family Easter gathering. She told us she pumped about $20 worth of gas before her car broke down less than three miles away.
"Less than three miles away, my car stopped," Pride said. "I couldn't make it up the street."
Pride and her children, ages 5 and 7, then had to walk home in the middle of the night. She said she recently had an oil change and kept up with routine maintenance.
"I'm trying to do everything that I can do in my power to do the right thing," Pride said.
Three mechanics came out to assess the car, but no diagnostic codes appeared, Pride said. She eventually had the car towed to a shop about 13 miles from her home. Her car was down for two weeks while mechanics worked through a full checklist — starter, battery and anything else that could prevent the car from starting.
"I did not think it was the gas," Pride said.
When her mechanic dropped the tank, he found the problem.
"In the bottom, it looks like oil," Pride said, holding up a clear bottle. "At the top, a mixture of water and gas."
Pride said she paid $400 out of pocket to get her car back and went directly to the BP station. When she went inside to speak with a manager, she said she was told no one was available.
Pride told us she showed employees the bottle of contaminated fuel pulled from her tank. She said when she returned to the station that day, signs had been posted at every pump stating only regular gas was being sold, with mid-grade and premium cut off — signs that were not there during her April 6 visit.
Pride said she has not been compensated and has filled out a complaint form with the Hamilton County Auditor's Office. She plans to follow through with the process.
"Choose wisely," Pride said when asked for her advice to other drivers. "I would just be skeptical of those (types) of gas stations. Just go to where you know. If you haven't had any problems with a certain gas station, stick to what you know."
WATCH: Pride describes the impact the gas had on her car
Looking into fuel regulation in Ohio
The Hamilton County Auditor's Office is where complaints like Pride's are supposed to be directed. Tom Woods, the office's chief of weights and measures, said the office received four complaints about "bad gas" at the BP on Reading Road between March 31 and April 6.
The gas station operator told county inspectors that when the fuel was delivered, the driver did not put the fill cap on fully, allowing rain to get into the tank.
WCPO requested comment from someone running the BP station, but the request was declined.
The situation is made more difficult by a gap in Ohio law. Even when a complaint is filed with the county auditor's office, while the quantity of fuel is measured, there is no system in place to check the quality of gas sold at stations.
Ohio is one of only three states in the country — along with Nebraska and Alaska — that do not have a fuel quality program.
Ohio State Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-25) has been pushing for legislation to change that. He said the fight has been an uphill battle as powerful petroleum companies push back.
"I think the consumers need a voice," Thomas said.
Thomas said residents who get bad gas technically should be able to direct complaints to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, but that process is not working in practice.
"People don't know," Thomas said.
He said county auditors across the state are ready to conduct fuel quality testing — they just need the legal authority to do it.
"The auditor is saying, 'Yeah, I'm ready. I just need the permissive language to do it,'" Thomas said.
Thomas introduced a bill in 2023 that would have allowed counties to purchase equipment and test fuel themselves, but it did not pass.
He said petroleum companies pushed back, arguing they deliver quality gas and do not want individual counties operating under different testing standards. To address that concern, Thomas said he included language in his bill requiring any county testing program to follow guidelines set by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
But Thomas said he believes the resistance from some lawmakers comes down to money.
"Some of your legislators are going to back off of it," Thomas said. "They're not going to get into this big fight with the petroleum companies. And I understand they get some campaign contributions from these petroleum companies. I'm being real. But I'm not trying to pick a fight with either. I'm just trying to say, 'hey, the consumer needs a voice.'"
Ohio State Sen. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) has introduced Senate Bill 80 to establish a statewide fuel quality program. Thomas said he believes there is a growing appetite to act, in part because rising gas prices are pushing more drivers to run their tanks low, which he said increases the risk of water being drawn into fuel systems.
"I think it's probably time to start having these discussions in a lot more serious manner," Thomas said.
Thomas said he believes most petroleum companies and station owners are trying to deliver quality fuel, but that problems can happen anywhere in the supply chain — from a faulty seal on a delivery truck to a compromised underground tank. He says the goal is accountability, not blame.
"Let's not point fingers as who's to blame," Thomas said. "Let's just say, okay, if I'm a station owner and some water got into someone's tank, and they come out to test it, I'm going to be open. I'll have to fix that person's car or whatever, and I'm going to look at how it got in. And if the company put it in there, then the company (has) to give me my money back. So that's all this boils down to."
Jay Shakur will be digging into more solutions for state quality fuel laws. If you have an issue, you can reach out here:
The Ohio Energy and Convenience Association provided WCPO with the following statement regarding Senate Bill 80:
"We certainly understand and respect the intent behind the legislation—ensuring Ohioans have access to reliable, high-quality fuel. However, we believe this bill addresses a problem that is already exceedingly rare. In those infrequent cases where issues do arise, they are typically not related to the quality of the fuel itself, but rather due to factors like water infiltration or maintenance issues with underground storage tanks. Ohio is fortunate to benefit from access to consistently high-quality fuel, thanks in part to being home to four major refineries. Additionally, much of the fuel sold in the state is branded gasoline that undergoes extensive testing and quality control. Many of our members are so confident in their product that they offer guarantees on the fuel they sell. While we appreciate the concerns raised by the sponsors, we believe this bill represents a solution in search of a problem and would add unnecessary costs and layers of bureaucracy. We are always open to discussions about how to improve fuel standards and consumer protection, but we believe proposed changes should be grounded in a demonstrated need."
