Spilled Ink Backs Up Traffic on Freeway

A flatbed truck overturned on the Santa Ana Freeway on Wednesday, dumping 500 gallons of red, blue and yellow printing ink on the pavement and backing up traffic five to eight miles for about five hours while Caltrans crews cleaned up the spill.

"The material was not hazardous," said Mark Reeves, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

Still, the broken barrels did require closure of all but two lanes of the freeway northbound near the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor interchange from about 12:30 to 5 p.m.

The driver of the truck was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, Reeves said.