Truck Jumps Freeway, Smashes Into 2 Homes
North Hollywood residents renewed their pleas Wednesday for a sound barrier along the Hollywood Freeway after a flatbed truck loaded with barrels of asbestos insulation careened off the roadbed and plowed into two houses.
The accident occurred north of Saticoy Street shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday. The driver fled after asking the startled resident of one of the damaged houses on Babcock Avenue to call 911 for help, said California Highway Patrol Officer Randy Klucker. CHP investigators were seeking the driver, whose name was not released.
The truck was removed from the back yards of the two houses Wednesday morning after the Los Angeles County Health Department determined that none of the sealed containers of asbestos had been opened in the accident.
A group of North Hollywood homeowners formed a coalition last July to push for construction of freeway sound walls in several locations, including the section of freeway that was the scene of the accident, said Bob Brice, a Babcock Avenue resident who helped organize the neighborhood.
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