Gas given away for free at Richland County convenience store
A free gas giveaway was held in Richland County Wednesday.
More than 200 drivers who brought their cars to the Corner Pantry convenience store/gas station on Garners Ferry Road received free regular unleaded fuel, store manager Kaydas Gabo told The State.
The store at 9001 Garners Ferry Road in Hopkins is near Lower Richland High School.
“The parking lot is locked down with people getting free gas,” Gabo said. “There’s a lot of people here. It’s an event.”
The giveaway started at 10 a.m. and ended at about noon, according to Gabo.
At about 11:30 a.m., close to 50 people were in the parking lot, and the line of cars was at least a quarter mile long down the road, according to Gabo.
While the drivers got the gas for free, someone still footed the bill. Especially with fuel going for more than $4 per gallon in Columbia.
Signs at the Corner Pantry showed regular unleaded gas was going for $3.99 per gallon.
Gabo said the event was sponsored by 411 PAIN, a medical and lawyer referral service. It was promoted by BIG DM radio stations Hot 103.9 and 93.9 FM.
“Somebody is paying for the gas,” Gabo said.
In fact, the bill was more than $8,500 as 225 vehicles were filled with gas, 411 PAIN representative and attorney James Kamensky told The State. Kamensky practices personal injury law for Kanner & Pintaluga.
This is not the first time the radio stations that play hip-hop music and 411 PAIN have organized a free gas event in Richland County. Big DM Senior Account Executive Steven Powell told The State they teamed up for a similar giveaway at a gas station on Farrow Road in November 2021.
At the height of the giveaway, Powell and Kamensky said cars were lined up for more than a mile. When they cut off the free flow of fuel, they said there were at least 100 cars still waiting for gas.
In spite of Wednesday’s rain, Gabo described the mood as lively and said there were no incidents at the gas giveaway.
Unfortunately for the Corner Pantry, there was not a lot of spill over business, as Gabo said the store was mostly empty.
Gas is a hot a commodity these days, with prices skyrocketing.
According to AAA South Carolina, the current average in Columbia is $4.04, up from $3.99 on Tuesday and $2.54 a year ago. Columbia’s average price for a gallon of regular hit a record high of $4.209 in September 2008.
“This was so needed, people are begging for help,” Kamensky said.
He said his law firm helped hold the event to get out in the community and meet the people who are clients.
It could send future customers their way.
“Everybody left with gas and a smile,” Kamensky said.
And there is good news for anyone who missed the event, or was stuck in line when it ended. Both Powell and Kamensky said their organizations are planning another fuel giveaway in the future.
They didn’t say when or where, but urged people to listen to the radio this spring, when word about another free gas event will be released an hour before it starts.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 11:49 AM.
