MOORE, Okla. — What was meant to be a routine paving job at a local gas station turned into a strange and unsettling situation after a dispute over payment led to the owner being trapped inside their store.
On Tuesday afternoon, a truck carrying asphalt arrived at the OK Stop gas station, located in Moore, Oklahoma. The plan, according to reports, was to re-asphalt the parking lot. However, the situation took an unexpected turn after a disagreement over the cost of the job.
Jim West, a nearby worker, described seeing a shiny white dump truck pull into the station, with several workers getting out to begin their task. At first, West assumed the job would be standard. “A couple of guys got out, and I saw another guy driving it, and they just started dumping asphalt,” he said. “In my mind, they’re going to re-asphalt the parking lot, right?”
However, as the hours passed, the situation became increasingly confusing. Three hours later, West looked out to find that the parking lot was covered in asphalt, and something had clearly gone wrong.
The Moore Police Department later revealed that the disagreement between the gas station owner and the paving company escalated. In retaliation, workers allegedly pushed a large amount of asphalt against the front door of the gas station, effectively trapping the owner inside. The trapped owner was forced to call the police for assistance.
“I never heard anything like it, never anything like it,” said West, who witnessed the aftermath. As city workers began arriving with shovels to clear a path through the hardened asphalt, it became clear that this situation was far from ordinary.
Authorities confirmed they are investigating the incident, though the paving company responsible for the job has yet to respond to inquiries from the media. Attempts to contact the company late Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The owner’s safety was eventually ensured, and the matter remains under investigation. Meanwhile, the community remains shocked by the unusual nature of the event, which has left many questioning the professionalism and actions of the workers involved.
