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,” said Santiago Martinez.
Martinez soon realized his truck was on fire.
Neighbors say they saw someone jump into a car as the fire started.
“Everybody heard the car and noticed the car took off like a bat out of hell,” said Martinez.
He says 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,’” said another neighbor.
That neighbor says 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 Bellevue PD, started as someone was drilling a hole in the truck’s gas tank.
“It’s just ridiculous,” said Martinez.
Tenants say 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.