SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Regional Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN ORANGE, RIVERSIDE, SAN BERNARDINO AND VENTURA COUNTIES : Big Rig Freeway Crash Snarls Traffic 3 Hours

A tanker truck hauling 4,100 gallons of diesel fuel overturned on the Santa Ana Freeway on Friday afternoon, tying up traffic for more than three hours.

Truck driver Wayne Townsend, 52, told California Highway Patrol officers that he attempted to pull off the freeway near Main Street in Santa Ana because of a smoking rear tire. But as he maneuvered the big rig to the shoulder off the southbound lanes, the brakes locked and the trailer rolled over, causing its load of fuel to begin leaking.

Townsend, who was not injured, works for Nickey’s Petroleum Co. in Santa Ana. He told investigators he was returning to the company’s yard after a pickup in Orange when motorists began honking their horns and gesturing that something was wrong with his rig.

“It was a malfunction of the truck’s brakes,” said CHP Sgt. Diane Hartz. “There was no air in the brakes, and that was what made them lock.” The truck’s rear tires apparently had been smoking for more than three miles, she said.

Townsend was not cited in the incident, which happened about 2:15 p.m. and forced closure of the Main Street offramp and connectors to the Santa Ana and Garden Grove freeways.