Friday, September 11, 2015

300 gallons of paint spilled after a 2008 Freightliner tractor trailer truck fell into a steep embankment in California




SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

MARIN COUNTY, CA

Clean-up efforts will continue Friday after a big rig tipped over on a tight turn in rural Marin County, spilling about 300 gallons of paint, officials said.

One-way traffic control will be in place on the 3800 block of Lucas Valley Road between 7 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol. The road is expected to be completely closed between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. as crews remove their equipment.

The 2008 Freightliner truck, towing a trailer with eight 250-gallon containers of paint, crashed on Lucas Valley Road west of West Gate Drive about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

The driver, Hugo Zavala-Barrera of Mendota (Fresno County) was trying to negotiate a “tight right turn” when the right-side tires of the truck left the roadway, causing the trailer to slide down a steep embankment and pulling the truck backward, said CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.

“The trailer came to rest hanging almost vertically, with the truck still on its wheels on the roadway,” Barclay said.

Some of the paint containers came loose and fell into the ravine, where they ruptured.

Barrera was uninjured.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin County Sheriff’s office, Marin County Fire Department, and Skywalker Ranch Fire Brigade responded to the scene, as did an environmental cleanup company.