Family files lawsuit after deadly gas station fire in Pinellas County
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - It was a horrific and painful death at a Pinellas County gas station. Days before Christmas, a mother of five was killed after being pinned between her SUV and the gas pump. The fuel ignited a massive fire.
Now, the family is suing Circle-K, and 12 other defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The 103-page civil complaint claims recklessness and negligence caused the deadly gas station fire on December 22.
"There were multiple levels of failures and there were multiple opportunities for the defendants that we’ve sued in this case to prevent Sheryll's death," said Attorney Ben Whitman from the Clark Fountain Law Firm.
Sheryll "Shoi" Caballes stopped at the Shell Circle-K on East Lake Road in Palm Harbor with her two youngest children that afternoon. As the 46-year-old was pumping gas another driver backed into the pump, knocking it over and pinning Caballes against her SUV. The fuel sparked a massive fire she could not escape.
"This woman was alive for several minutes while the fire was going on, and she knew what was happening, and her children have to live with that horrific image just days before the Christmas holiday. And they'll live with that for the rest of their lives," Whitman said.
The gas station, two employees, the other driver, and nine additional defendants are named in this wrongful death lawsuit. The complaint claims there were multiple opportunities to prevent this tragedy from happening, starting with a device inside the fuel dispenser.
"The impact valve or shear valve is designed to make sure that if an impact occurs, fuel stops flowing from the underground tanks into the fuel dispenser," explained Whitman.
He said that shut-off valve is federally required to be inspected, and was critical evidence to this case, especially if it was not working properly.
"They didn't think it was necessary at all to save this year valve. So the sheer valve itself was discarded," Whitman said.
Still, the suit alleges workers at the Circle-K had several minutes to intervene and hit the emergency shut off switch.
"It would have stopped the flow of fuel immediately and the fire would have stopped immediately," said Whitman. "They had a clear opportunity to save this woman's life."
Caballes was a loving wife and mother of five. She worked as a nurse and loved to craft and travel.
"We want to ensure that something like this never happens again," Whitman added.
Caballes’ family is suing for damages. Whitman said a case of this magnitude could take years to get to trial.