County IN BRIEF : BURBANK : Crash, Diesel Spill Close Freeway Lanes

All northbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway in Burbank were closed for about five hours Tuesday after a semi-trailer truck struck a disabled tanker truck, rupturing it and spilling a small amount of diesel fuel, the California Highway Patrol reported. There were only minor injuries. The truck crash occurred in the outside lane and shoulder of the freeway near the Alameda Avenue exit at 1:30 a.m., but about 60 gallons of diesel fuel spilled across all lanes, the CHP said. The lengthy closure occurred while the spill was cleaned up and the remaining 9,000 gallons in the ruptured tank were pumped into another tanker truck, Sgt. Ron Ainsworth said. Ainsworth said the tanker truck was being driven by Cesar Ernesto Acuna of Norwalk, who tried to pull off the freeway after a tire blew out. The tanker truck could not completely fit on the shoulder and partially blocked the outside lane of the freeway. Ainsworth said Acuna went to the rear of the disabled truck in an effort to warn other motorists to go around it. But a semi-trailer rig driven by George F. Kilby of Nipomo was unable to stop in time and hit the rear corner of the tanker. Acuna was not injured. Kilby was treated at the scene by paramedics for minor injuries. The tank was ruptured and knocked off its rear axle, making it unsafe to move until the fuel was pumped out, Ainsworth said. CHP officers rerouted northbound traffic off the freeway at Western Avenue in Glendale and back on at Orange Grove Avenue in Burbank. All lanes of the freeway were reopened at about 6:30 a.m., but the CHP still reported a traffic backup of more than a mile before the opening. No one was cited in the accident, which remains under investigation, the CHP said.