Wedged Truck Blocks Ventura Boulevard

Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks was closed in both directions for almost four hours Thursday when a truck carrying concrete slabs became wedged beneath the San Diego Freeway overpass, Los Angeles police said.

Traffic Officer Dennis Smith said the accident occurred about 5:30 a.m. when the tractor-trailer drove under the overpass near Sepulveda Boulevard and the Sherman Oaks Galleria and two precast concrete walls became jammed against the overpass. The truck was heading west to a construction site, Smith said.

Some of the slabs crumbled upon impact and chunks of concrete fell onto eastbound lanes of Ventura Boulevard, he said. No one was injured and there apparently was no damage to the overpass, police said.

Truck driver Larry Borrink reportedly had measured the height of his four-ton cargo before going under the overpass and erroneously thought that there was clearance, Smith said. After the cargo became wedged, Borrink could not remove the truck by bleeding air from its tires because authorities feared that the maneuver might shift the load and cause it to spill.

Because of the debris in the street and the danger that the slabs might fall off the truck, police closed all six traffic lanes while a heavy-equipment tow truck pulled the slabs off the truck. The roadway was reopened about 9:15 a.m., Smith said.

The accident caused traffic to back up in both directions on Ventura Boulevard, police said. Detoured traffic also caused snarls on Sepulveda Boulevard and other nearby streets.

Police said Borrink was cited for carrying too tall a load on his truck and for not having a city permit allowing him to transport an oversized load on city streets.