Gas-hoarding woman suffers burns after her car bursts into flames as she flees from police

A gas-hoarding South Carolina woman has suffered burns to her body after her car crashed and burst into flames while she was fleeing from police. 

Jessica Gale Patterson, 28, was driving through Pickens County in her white Pontiac G6 on Thursday night when an officer attempted to stop her over a stolen license plate. 

Unbeknownst to the cop, Patterson’s Pontiac was loaded up with containers of fuel which she had hoarded amid the current gas crisis caused by the Colonial Pipeline hack.  

According to statement put out by Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Patterson ‘accelerated her vehicle in an attempt to elude law enforcement’ before she ‘lost control of the car’ and it flipped over at the side of the roadway. 

The vehicle immediately caught fire and multiple explosions were heard inside before Patterson emerged from the Pontiac doused in flames. 

‘The deputy pushed Patterson to the ground in order to put out the flames,” the sheriff’s office stated. 

She was subsequently rushed to hospital, but the severity of her burns has not yet been publicly disclosed. 

Patterson has admitted to police that she was hoarding gas in the trunk of the car, which they have determined were the ‘catalyst for the explosions’.    

Across the US,  thousands of motorists have been stocking up on gas in recent days after the Colonial Pipeline was forced to suspend operations due to the ransomware attack carried out by Russia’s DarkSide hackers.  

More than 10,000 gas stations from New Jersey to Florida have run dry, and thousands more are experiencing shortages.  

Experts have cautioned drivers against hoarding fuel and keeping it in the trunks of their cars, claiming it is unsafe. 

On Thursday, gas hoarding caused another vehicle to go up in flames in Florida. 

The silver Hummer, which was parked by a gas station in Citrus County, had four 5-gallon fuel cans in the back when it exploded. 

The driver had reportedly just stocked up on the gas before the accident occurred. 

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has urged Americans against hoarding gas. 

‘I know seeing lines at the pumps or gas stations with no gas can be extremely stressful, but this is a temporary situation,’ he stated. 

‘Panic buying will only slow the process.’

While the Colonial Pipeline has now resumed operations, it could take two weeks for fuel supplies to return to normal.