Truck Spills 200 Gallons of Diesel, Closing Street

A truck with a ruptured fuel tank spilled about 200 gallons of diesel on a drive through Burbank on Sunday, forcing the closure of one street for an hour and diverting traffic at five other intersections, Burbank police said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer--Joe Caldron, 50, who works for Smart & Final in Vernon--was cited by the Burbank Fire Department for violating a city ordinance against dumping hazardous materials on the street, said Burbank Police Lt. Don Brown.

An eighth of a mile of Edison Boulevard, between Burbank Boulevard and Hollywood Way, was closed for an hour starting about 5:45 p.m. so firefighters and city street workers could clean up the mess, Brown said.

Police also had to close one lane at five Burbank Boulevard intersections between Edison and the onramp for the Golden State Freeway, a distance of 2 1/2 miles. A lane on the onramp also had to be closed.

The spill started at the parking lot of a Smart & Final store at Burbank and Edison when Caldron drove the truck over a broken concrete divider. A metal rod in the concrete punctured one of the fuel tanks in his truck, Brown said.

Caldron then decided to drive to his company’s Vernon facility to get a new truck, spilling fuel on the way. But the ruptured tank apparently ran out of fuel after the truck reached the freeway, Brown said.