About 10 container drums fell from a flatbed truck in the Jefferson Park area Tuesday, spilling liquids that investigators initially feared might be related to drug manufacturing, but authorities later proclaimed the barrels contained nothing hazardous or drug-related.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, additional testing on the liquid “came back negative for any hazardous materials, caustic substances or drugs.”
The spill occurred at about 8 a.m. in the 3000 block of South Crenshaw Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“Reportedly, a flatbed truck lost approximately 10 plastic 55-gallon drums, which spilled an unknown substance onto the street,” according to an LAFD statement.
LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said the truck driver failed to stop at the scene, and the Los Angeles Police Department was notified. A bystander who came in contact with one of the barrels was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Scott said.
“That individual didn’t really have a medical complaint, but out of an abundance of caution we encouraged him to be evaluated at a hospital, and we did transport him in stable condition,” Scott said.
Fire officials initially said a hazardous materials team determined that at least some of the barrels contained an “industrial detergent, similar to commercial hand soap,” but “there was at least one other substance that remained to be determined.”
Personnel from the multi-agency LA IMPACT task force — which focuses primarily on large drug-trafficking probes — was called into assist in the investigation. But by mid-afternoon, the substances had been deemed safe.
The intersection of Crenshaw and Jefferson boulevards was expected to remain closed until late Tuesday afternoon to accommodate the cleanup.