Man Threatening to Blow Up Tanker Tackled by Passer-By in Brief Standoff

A man in a bathing suit threatened to ignite a gasoline tanker truck at a Vista gas station Monday morning until he was wrestled to the ground by the truck driver and a passer-by, authorities said.

Timothy Norris, 44, of Placentia, the driver of the 8,400-gallon gasoline tanker, told Vista fire officials that he was transferring gasoline to underground tanks at Barnicle’s Express gasoline in the 800 block of East Vista Way when the man approached him.

Moments earlier, Norris said, he had seen the man’s car driving east on Vista Way with its hood up.

Holding a matchbook, the man--described only as white and about 25 years old--began disconnecting caps to dispensing lines to set them ablaze, according to Vista Fire Marshal Paul Dawson.

Norris said he warned the man of the danger and ran to call authorities. When he returned to the scene, Dawson said, he found that the man had been confronted by a passer-by, David Simon of Vista.

“The bystander talked to the guy, and, when he saw him look away, he jumped on him,” Dawson said. “With the help of the truck driver, they dragged the man away from the vehicle.”

Authorities said the man was admitted Monday to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside for observation.

“Mr. Simon came by at the right time,” Dawson said. “Who knows what could have happened if that tanker had blown up?”