Quick-Thinking Officers Stop Leaking Fuel from Spreading

Wayland Police Officer Shauna Lombardo was driving on Draper Road Tuesday morning when a bizarre turn of events led to a ruptured gas tank and flat tire for her cruiser.

Officer Shane Bowles was traveling in a separate cruiser nearby when a manhole cover appeared to pop up from the road under Lombardo's vehicle as she drove over it.

Bowles said they don't know exactly what caused the manhole to dislodge -- he said her tire could have caught the edge in just the right spot -- but they do know that the loose metal cover "ripped up" the bottom of Lombardo's cruiser, leaving her with a flat tire and a fuel tank spilling gasoline into the street.

Wayland Fire Deputy Chief David Houghton said the fire department responded quickly, but that Bowles and Lombardo deserve the "kudos" for their quick thinking that prevented the gas from spreading.

According to Bowles, he and Lombardo began collecting sand, twigs, vegetation, anything they could find, to dam up the spilling gasoline and keep it from running into nearby catch basins and drains.

"And we took care of it before it got into any manholes or anything," Bowles said. "The fire department got there fast, but we just went in the woods and started grabbing whatever we could find. This is just life experience of knowing that we don't want any gasoline going down the drain."

Houghton said the fire department completed the cleanup and put down absorbent materials for the roughly 18 gallons of gasoline that spilled. Thanks to Bowles and Lombardo, Houghton said, the situation was quickly resolved without a significant environmental issue.