LOCAL : Spill Stalls Simi Commuters

A truck dumped 20 tons of gravel on the San Fernando Freeway in Simi Valley today, causing the closure of two westbound lanes and a slow morning commute for some motorists, the California Highway Patrol said. There were no injuries in the 6 a.m. accident, which occurred near Tapo Street, said CHP Officer Jim Utter.

The gravel was dumped when the bottom doors on a tractor-trailer rig apparently came open, Utter said. The gravel spilled across all three westbound lanes, but only two lanes were closed during the cleanup, which lasted more than an hour. Utter said that traffic was slowed but that the backup was minimal because most morning rush-hour traffic in the area is eastbound.