Hazardous Materials Violation Charged
A truck driver allegedly transporting four unsecured barrels of a flammable resin on a busy commercial street was charged Tuesday with violating safety laws.
“There’s a possibility of an explosion,” said Vince Sato of the city attorney’s environmental unit. He also said that even if the barrels did not catch fire, they could be a danger in traffic.
Driver Joseph Liebgott III, 45, and Love Trucking Inc. both of Upland, were each charged with two counts of failing to secure hazardous materials, according to a statement issued by the city attorney’s office.
A Los Angeles Police Department Environmental Crimes Unit officer on routine patrol stopped the van after he reported seeing it speed by at 45 mph in a 35-mph zone on De Soto Avenue near Saticoy Street, the statement said. Authorities said the officer noticed the truck because it was bearing a “Flammable” placard.
The officer said that while inspecting the van he discovered it was carrying 1,716 pounds of a flammable resin solution, according to Deputy City Atty. Rubin Harsoyo, a prosecutor in the Environmental Protection Unit.
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