SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Barbara police say they received several reports of a commercial size cement truck spilling large amounts of concrete out of its rear drum Saturday morning.
The spill coated around three city blocks, spanning from the 100 East Block of De La Guerra Street and until the intersection of East Cota and Anacapa Streets.
Police say the driver appeared to have driven away from the work site with the drum set to "spill" instead of "mix."
Roads were shut down to vehicles for several hours as the spill created a traffic hazard.
Public Works called in a "clean-up crew" to help manage the spill.
The California Highway Patrol helped SBPD with the investigation. Officers completed an inspection of the truck and discovered several equipment and vehicle code violations.
Officials say the driver appears to have only been operating the truck for less than a week on his own.
The case is now being referred to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office for review and filing against the driver and the cement company, Mission Ready Mix for 374.8 PC – Spilling Hazardous Waste, 23113 VC, Dumping Load on Roadway, and 23114 VC, Not Securing Load.
This case was also sent to Risk Management to recuperate the City’s cost in cleaning up the mix.
