Vehicle hits pump, causes fire at Va. gas station

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a fire at a Newport New gas station started when a sport utility vehicle hit a pump, and the driver was charged after fleeing the scene on foot.

Newport News Fire Department Battalion Chief J. Douglas Carper says the fire was reported around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday. Firefighters found heavy fire when they arrived at the scene.

Newport News police spokesman Lou Thurston says the SUV's driver fled and was captured a short distance away. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Thurston says 22-year-old Keith Wendell Lauder of Hampton was charged with one count each of reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident and two counts of destruction to property.