Tanker Truck Carrying 7,500 Gallons Of Fuel Overturns On 5 Freeway In Atwater Village
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A tanker truck hauling about 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel overturned Wednesday on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway in the Atwater Village area, shutting down northbound lanes for hours well into the afternoon rush hour.
The rollover crash was first reported at about 7:10 a.m. and did not involve any other vehicles beside the tanker. The driver - who was not injured - told police he was not able to stop when traffic stopped in front of him and swerved, tipping the tanker over.
A large puddle of fuel spreading out from the overturned tanker appeared to span five lanes of the freeway. But firefighters say even though only about 10 gallons of fuel spilled, the clean-up effort will take until at least 2 p.m.
"Our firefighter specialists, hazmat, will actually get up on top of the tanker, they'll drill inside and they'll be able to put the hose inside to be able to suck that product out," Los Angeles Fire Capt. Cody Weireter said. "After all that product's been removed, that's when we can upright that vehicle and remove it from the freeway."
Crews moved the truck completely off the freeway just after 4 p.m., but traffic remained heavy on the 5 Freeway.
