Overturned Tanker Closes Freeway
The Foothill Freeway in Azusa was closed in both directions for about seven hours Wednesday, creating a nightmarish traffic jam after a tanker truck hauling about 4,000 gallons of liquid oxygen overturned.
The big rig owned by Cryogenic Transportation Inc. of Irwindale was eastbound, toward Riverside County, when it overturned near Citrus Avenue about noon. The freeway was reopened shortly before 7 p.m.
Traffic was backed up for about six miles on the freeway, and neighboring freeways were affected as well.
“Rush hour in the area is rough anyway, but this just made the traffic congestion that much worse,” said California Highway Patrol spokesman Todd Powers.
County firefighters detected a leak in the tanker and spent hours transferring part of the load to another truck. The freeway was closed because liquid oxygen is highly flammable, Powers said. About 5 p.m., the tanker was towed away.
Crews used absorbent material to soak up the remaining liquid oxygen .
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