Gas station manager fired for mistakenly setting gas to 69 cents per gallon

California drivers are on average paying $6.43 a gallon.

June 14, 2022, 6:30 PM

The manager of a Northern California gas station was fired after he accidentally set the gas price to 69 cents a gallon.

John Szczecina, who served as the manager for a Shell gas station in Rancho Cordova, said he mistakenly placed the decimal in the wrong spot and that the price was supposed to be $6.99 a gallon.

"I put all three prices on there, except the diesel. The last one kind of didn't go. So, I just took responsibility for it and said yeah, it's my fault," Szczecina said, ABC News Fresno station KFSN reported.

The pricing error reportedly cost the gas station $16,000, as hundreds of drivers capitalized on the mistake and filled their tanks.

PHOTO: A customer pumps gas into his truck at the Shell station in Rancho Cordova, Calif., June 10, 2022.
A customer pumps gas into his truck at the Shell station in Rancho Cordova, Calif., June 10, 2022. An error on the pumps had gas selling for just 69 cents a gallon.
KOVR

Szczecina said he's worried the station owners will sue him for lost revenue, revealing that his family created a GoFundMe to help repay them, KFSN reported.

According to auto club AAA, nationwide gas prices recently reached $5 a gallon for the first time.

Drivers in California are paying much higher prices for gas -- an average of $6.43 per gallon -- than the national average.

Gas prices have skyrocketed in the last few months, pinching the pockets of millions of Americans who are struggling to fill their tanks amid inflation costs.

More motorists are also poised to hit the road as the busy summer season gets underway, also leading to increased gas prices, analysts told ABC News.

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