Gasoline Fire, Spill Shut Freeway

A gasoline tanker skidded out of control on a rain-slick section of the Ventura Freeway early Saturday and smashed into a concrete pillar, sparking a fireball that shut down the roadway for about three hours.

The driver, Eric Borrayo, 25, of Ventura, sustained third-degree burns on his arms in the 3:20 a.m. crash on the northbound lanes near the Del Norte Road exit, California Highway Patrol Officer Dave Webb said.

Borrayo was treated at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and released, hospital officials said.

“[Borrayo] said he thought one of the brakes locked up,” Webb said. “It was raining and dark at the time. Whether he fell asleep or it was the rain, we don’t know.”

The tanker was carrying 8,600 gallons of fuel in two tanks on an overnight run from a Texaco refinery in Wilmington to Ventura, Webb said.

Wet roads may have a been a factor, CHP officials said. A storm that dropped about half an inch of rain throughout the region hit hardest at that time, meteorologists said.

County firefighters from five stations battled the fire for several hours before getting it under control, Webb said.

“It was a giant ball of fire. Especially in the rain, it was impressive and scary,” Webb said. “[Borrayo] was very fortunate to get away.”

The tanker, traveling about 55 mph, skidded and struck a guardrail on the right shoulder before hitting the Del Norte Road bridge overpass, Webb said.

The state Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Ventura County Department of Environmental Health Services were investigating whether the fuel had spilled into nearby canals that lead to the ocean, Webb said.

One northbound lane was reopened about 6 a.m. Although the spilled fuel was contained within a 100-foot area on the freeway, the cleanup lasted into the afternoon, causing traffic tie-ups.

The storm that hit overnight Friday and created 30 mph winds throughout the area Saturday was expected give way to partly cloudy skies and continued cool temperatures today, said Bonnie Bartlett of the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The winds were also expected to die down today.

A weaker storm is expected to pass through early Monday, most likely bringing light rain, she said. Snow levels were expected to drop below 3,500 feet.

“It came a little bit quicker and it lasted longer than the models were showing,” Bartlett said of the storm. “It’s not an exact science.”