Cement truck spills concrete on Santa Barbara streets
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Crews in Santa Barbara had to clean up a messy situation Saturday morning.
The spill began about 11:45 a.m. on the 100 block of De La Guerra Street and continued down Anacapa Street to near Cota Street across from Parking lot 10.
Investigators say it appears the drum rotation was set to "spill" instead of "mix" when the driver left the work site.
A large quantity of cement was dropped across from City Hall. Several vehicles drove through it before police could close the street. The Public Works Department brought out several barricades during the investigation to reduce traffic flow.
There were many cars parked on the street where the cement splattered, including customers of the nearby Farmers' Market. It's unknown if any vehicles on the roadway or parked were damaged by the cement.
The California Highway Patrol assisted the police department with the investigation because it was a commercial trucking vehicle.
An inspection of the cement truck was completed and there was some equipment related vehicle code violations. It also appears the driver of the cement truck had been operating this type of commercial vehicle for less than a week on his own, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
The case is being referred to the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office for review and filing against the driver and the cement company, Mission Ready Mix (based in Solvang) for 374.8 PC – Spilling Hazardous Waste, 23113 VC, Dumping Load on Roadway, and 23114 VC, Not Securing Load.
