By Tracy Domingo
News Assistant
Pepperdine’s location in Malibu is one of its biggest selling points. But as some commuter students, faculty and staff learned last week while being stranded in traffic on the other side of Malibu Canyon, there are prices to pay for living or working in paradise.
After a collision on Highway 101 caused 1,000 gallons of gasoline to leak out after a tanker truck was overturned, the Ventura Freeway was closed in both directions for more than six hours creating unbearable bumper to bumper traffic.
Students, faculty and staff who were trying to make it to campus for their morning classes or work were trapped with nowhere to go and little hope in sight.
In efforts to avoid the chaotic standstill, many drivers attempted to use side roads, making the congestion even worse in every direction. Malibu Canyon Road was completely jam-packed, making it nearly impossible for some drivers to reach campus.
Senior business major Eduardo Monroy, who lives near Topanga Canyon, got up early that morning because he had a presentation in his policy class. However, when he got on the road what he found was every driver’s worst nightmare.
“I was stuck for four hours on the 101,” Monroy said. “I turned on the radio to see if they had any news about the accident and they were saying that it would only take an hour at the most.”
Unfortunately for Monroy, the presentation he was supposed to give at noon was the most important presentation in the class. Luckily, he was able to get into contact with his professor to brief him on the situation.
“I tried to leave the highway,” Monroy explained. “But every single road leading to the Malibu Canyon was completely packed. The traffic was so bad, people had their cars stopped in the emergency lanes and were lying on their hoods getting a tan. It was one of the most frustrating times in my life.”
When Monroy finally arrived in class more than five hours after he got onto the road, his class erupted in applause. He went on to give his presentation but said he did not do as well as he hoped because he was so exhausted after the fiasco.
The accident occurred Thursday morning when Gavin Charles Kleintop, suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, began traveling the wrong way on the Ventura Freeway.
According to the California Highway Patrol report, Kleintop first collided with a Honda Accord inflicting minor injuries on the driver. Kleintop then continued going the wrong direction on the freeway and collided with a Peterbuilt tractor-trailer combination tank causing the truck to roll over on its left side.
The truck was carrying thousands of gallons of gasoline at the time of the accident, and when the truck overturned the forward tank was slightly ripped causing approximately 1,000 gallons to spill out.
The driver of the truck and Kleintop sustained only minor injuries.
CHP reports that the majority of the spill was cleaned up by the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Hazardous-Materials team and the remaining gas in the tanks was pumped out.
The highway was shut down at 3:43 a.m. and the east bound lanes of the highway were closed until 9:26 a.m. The west bound lanes did not reopen until 12:43 p.m.
Courtney Benvenuto lives in the Malibu Canyon Apartments and was trying to get to her Social Psychology class that began at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
“I left my apartment at around 7:30 and sat on Las Virgenes and hadn’t even gotten to the interstate for an hour,” Benvenuto said. “I was just on a residential road and it took me an hour to go a mile!”
When she arrived at her class, she and other classmates found a note saying that their professor, Dr. John Johnston, was in the same predicament and class was postponed until 9 a.m.
Being located next to Los Angeles, Pepperdine is familiar with such hectic circumstances.
Sgt. Victor Coronel of Public Safety said when situations in the surrounding area occur that would affect students, faculty or staff, the administration is notified immediately.
“We constantly monitor all bands of police, sheriff, fire department, etc.,” Coronel said. “We listen and we make a decision as to whether or not it would affect the university.”
Additionally, Coronel encourages drivers to use Pepperdine’s Road Condition Hotline that can be called to determine road conditions and provide alternate route suggestions.
The Road Condition hotline number is (310) 506-7623.
Submitted March 25, 2004