SANTA CLARITA : Leaking Truck Closes Freeway

A disabled tanker truck leaking waste from an oil refinery shut down all southbound traffic on the Golden State Freeway in Santa Clarita for more than three hours Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol said.

The truck, en route from Bakersfield to Wilmington, stalled about 3:30 p.m. two miles south of Calgrove Boulevard when driver Ray Turner, 33, noticed that the tank was leaking, said CHP Capt. Greg Augusta. A CHP patrol car noticed the truck and officers rerouted all southbound traffic to surface streets, Augusta said. An eight-mile backup reached Lake Hughes Road in Castaic. The Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Department of Transportation conducted the cleanup.

The substance turned out to be waste water from processing oil.