Suspected gas thief sparks truck fires at Bellevue apartment complex
Aug 11, 2026, 10:38 AM | Updated: 10:39 am
A gas pump is situated in a vehicle at a Chevron gas station. (Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
(Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
A suspected gas thief got away after sparking a truck fire at a Bellevue apartment complex over the weekend.
Video from neighbors captured flames and smoke as two vehicles burned Saturday morning.
“We heard a ‘bang, bang.’ So I got up. The fire was pretty high up, almost the second story,” Santiago Martinez said.
Martinez soon realized his truck was on fire.
Neighbors said they saw someone jumping into a car as the fire started.
“Everybody heard the car and noticed the car took off like a bat out of hell,” Martinez said.
He said the truck’s drive shaft likely melted, and the truck rolled downhill, hitting another car, which then caught fire.
“I know all the neighbors, so I just started yelling, ‘come get your cars,’” another neighbor said.
That neighbor said he was worried about flames jumping to the building just feet away.
“There’s a lot of seniors that live in this place, and it was getting a little out of hand; the heat was starting to pick up. It was pretty ridiculous,” he said.
Firefighters quickly put out the fire, which, according to the Bellevue Police Department, started as someone was drilling a hole in the truck’s gas tank.
“It’s just ridiculous,” Martinez said.
Tenants said cars are regularly tampered with, and they’d like to see more security.
No one was hurt, but the people responsible got away.
Anyone who has a tip is urged to contact Bellevue PD.
