A TikToker has gone viral after alleging a Queens-based gas station attendant took the air out of her tires, causing them to become damaged as she drove away.
The reason he took the air out of her tires, user Lizzy (@lizzyashmusic) alleges, is that she parked at the gas station and did not buy any gas.
In the video, Lizzy can be seen confronting the attendant, who seems to admit to the act.
Lizzy’s video currently has over 154,000 views and spawned a follow-up.
In Lizzy’s first TikTok, Lizzy and the attendant argue about why he let the air out of her tires.
“Why did you park here?” the attendant yells.
“I had to pee!” Lizzy answers.
Later, Lizzy says that the attendant did not inform her that he let the air out of her tires, causing her to drive away and damage her wheels.
In the comments section, Lizzy also adds that he wanted her to return to the station so she could buy air to refill her tires for $20. According to Lizzy, he did not inform her of this plan until she had already driven away and damaged her wheels.
This is especially painful for Lizzy, who is an Uber driver and therefore cannot make money while her car is being repaired.
In the comments, TikTokers were outraged.
“He didn’t want you to be parked there so he took the air out so you can’t leave?” one user asked. “Make it make sense.”
“He literally admitted to taking the air out the tires on camera,” another stated. “Get a lawyer and file a police report asap.”
However, it seems that Lizzy did try to file a police report.
In a follow-up video, Lizzy records her interaction with the police following the incident.
The cop does not file a police report, instead encouraging Lizzy to file a complaint about the gas station with the Better Business Bureau. The cop later claims that what the gas attendant had done was essentially a “prank.”
“He was pulling a prank on you,” the officer says in the video.
TikTokers did not take too kindly to this explanation.
“This is FAR from a prank! This put your life as well as others driving by you in danger,” one user wrote. “THANK GOODNESS it didn’t get that bad.”
Others agreed. “How is this not considered attempted murder when you operated heavy machinery after it was tempered with? That could have caused you [to have an] accident!” another commenter said.
Some specifically called out the officer for refusing to take a report.
“I despise the nypd’s response,” one user said, with another adding, “Cops literally do nothinggggggg only when they feel like doing their job.”
While there has not been a legal resolution, Lizzy says that her wheel was repaired thanks to a good samaritan who saw the interaction. She claims that this person fixed her wheel free of charge, which is visible in the video.
Lizzy did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment. The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
Update 11:34am CT, April 20: In an exclusive statement to Daily Dot, Lizzy say the issue has been mostly resolved.
“The update is the guy who works next door to the gas station, who works at the tire repair section, fixed my [wheel] for free, apologizing for what the other guy did—and he filled both tires with air,” Lizzy shares.
As to why she decided to keep the gas station attendant’s identity a secret, Lizzy says she simply wants the situation to be over.
“I do not wish to fight fire with fire and harm the man or his station,” she tells Daily Dot. “I do understand why he was upset, low business, etc.—it does not make what he did right. Hopefully he handles it better with other citizens in the area. Tap the window and say, ‘Hey if you park here you have to buy something’ —not mess up their tires.”
Today’s top stories
| ‘Fill her up’: Bartender gives woman a glass of water when the man she’s with orders tequila shot |
| ‘I don’t think my store has even sold one’: Whataburger employees take picture with first customer who bought a burger box |
| ‘It was a template used by anyone in the company’: Travel agent’s ‘condescending’ out-of-office email reply sparks debate |
| Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online. |
