Image by Flickr user B RosenImage by 20090709-gas.jpg

Three gas stations and one supplier have agreed to donate $6,500 to the American Red Cross after they were investigated by South Carolina for suspected price gouging following Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

None of those groups were based in the Lowcountry and a report from the Attorney General’s Office stated: "With few exceptions, retail stations acted within reason given the information available to them about the status of fuel supply."

The parties said to be offending were:
- Bobb’s Food and Fuel, 4325 Mineral Springs Road, Lexington. Donation: $500
- Best Stop, 3937 Leaphart Road, West Columbia. Donation: $500
- Citgo, 19002 Highway 72 East, Clinton. Donation: $500
- Transmontaigne (wholesale supplier - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc.), 2300 Southport Road, Spartanburg. Donation: $5,000

You can learn more about the investigation by reading the full report or this article at The State.