Wrong-Way Driver Shuts Down the 101

A suspected drunk driver going the wrong way on the Ventura Freeway early Thursday clipped a tanker truck, causing a gasoline spill that forced authorities to shut down the 101 in the eastern Conejo Valley for more than six hours.

No one was seriously injured, and hazardous-materials crews mopped up 1,000 gallons of discharged gasoline and pumped out what remained in the truck’s tank.

“The accident was close to a hillside with dry brush. There was a huge potential for a massive fire,” California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang said. “This could have been a lot worse.”

Thousands of morning commuters were backed up for miles by the freeway closure. Desperate for detours, motorists squeezed onto adjacent roads and flooded the 118 Freeway, a parallel route nearly 10 miles to the north.

Authorities arrested Gavin Charles Kleintop, 24, on suspicion of felony drunk driving. The Sherman Oaks man is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Public records show that Kleintop was on probation for a 2002 misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence, which caused the Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend his driver’s license for four months. His license was reinstated in October 2002, according to the DMV.

Kleintop’s three-year probation -- until May 20, 2005 -- required that he not drive a vehicle with alcohol in his blood, state records show.

About 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Kleintop was driving his Chevy Blazer east on the westbound 101 when he sideswiped a Honda Accord near Chesebro Road in Agoura Hills, then clipped the tanker, according to the CHP.

The truck’s driver swerved to miss Kleintop, causing one of the big rig’s two tanks to tumble on its side, spilling fuel, Tang said. Kleintop and the drivers of the truck and Honda suffered minor injuries.

The stretch of the Ventura Freeway where the accident occurred is traveled by more than 14,000 vehicles an hour during typical peak times, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The eastbound 101, which was shut down from Kanan to Liberty Canyon roads, reopened at 9:20 a.m. The westbound 101 from Las Virgenes Road to Chesebro, where the spill occurred, began to reopen at 12:40 p.m. All lanes were open by 2:10 p.m., according to the CHP.

Times staff writer Sara Lin contributed to this report.