An Adelaide mother of two says she has been forced to siphon fuel from her wrecked car after it was written off in a hit-and-run crash outside her home in Taperoo.
Alana Wallace says she is already struggling to make ends meet, and with fuel prices soaring, she needs every drop of petrol to keep her only remaining vehicle on the road.
Her parked hatchback was destroyed when an SUV clipped its rear wheel, sending the vehicle airborne before it flipped onto its roof. She was home with her children when she heard the deafening crash.
The hatchback had become too expensive to run, but Wallace had only just managed to get it back on the road. It was not insured.
Witnesses say the woman behind the wheel ran off when they tried to call an ambulance. Police later located the 36-year-old and fined her for leaving the scene of a collision, among other traffic offences.
Adding to the frustration, Wallace had just filled the tank, paying nearly double the usual cost amid the ongoing fuel crisis. She has now had to siphon the fuel herself to keep her other car running. “I’m a single mum, so I do it on my own… and it’s gonna hit the pocket pretty hard,” she said.
