Solvent, Fuel Spills Tie Up 2 Freeways
Two separate spills closed lanes of the Riverside and San Diego freeways for several hours on Wednesday.
At 12:30 p.m., two 55-gallon barrels of detergent solvent fell from the back of a truck at the Raymond Street off-ramp of the eastbound Riverside Freeway in Anaheim, causing part of the ramp to be closed for more than four hours, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ron Davenport.
“There was an extremely strong odor and one of the barrels foamed up,” Davenport said. The state Department of Transportation “had to wait to determine whether it was a hazardous material before moving in on the spill.”
About an hour later, two big-rig trucks and a car were involved in a non-injury accident on the southbound San Diego Freeway near the El Toro Road off-ramp.
“During the crash, the fuel tank of one of the rigs was ruptured and it leaked for half a mile before the rig was able to come to a stop,” Davenport said.
It took Caltrans crews more than 90 minutes to clean up the fuel, forcing the temporary closure of two lanes.
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