Ute torched after left on roadside

Amy Glass | 3rd July 2009

RUNNING out of fuel near his home has proven a pricey mistake for a Burua man, after his 2007 model utility was torched just hours after he left it behind.

A Gladstone Scenes of Crime officer examines the burnt out vehicle.

Amy Glass

RUNNING out of fuel near his home has proven a pricey mistake for a Burua man, after his 2007 model utility was torched just hours after he left it behind.

Gladstone firefighters were called to the burning Ford ranger at 3.45am yesterday, which had been spotted ablaze on the Dawson Highway near Burua by a passing motorist.

The man had run out of petrol about 6pm on Wednesday night, leaving the Ford Ranger parked near Gehrky Road.

“Cars don't just catch on fire when they've run out of fuel and are parked on the side of the road,” a police spokesman told The Observer yesterday.

“It looks like he was nearly home when he ran out of fuel.”

Gladstone Scenes of Crime were at the site of the fire yesterday which had been guarded by police overnight.

Police said the fire had caused extensive damage to the cab and the front of the tray, destroying the vehicle.

Their initial investigations indicated the fire was deliberately lit.

Gladstone police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000. The incident follows the theft and arson of a light truck last month.

On that occasion a Hino truck was found burning on the banks of Auckland Creek at Chapple Street in the early hours of the morning.

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