2 to Be Arraigned in Hazardous Cargo Case

Two men will be arraigned Oct. 29 in the alleged leaking of hazardous materials along a Chatsworth street, officials said Friday.

Truck driver Gregory Wayne McIntyre, 40, of Inglewood was cited for two alleged violations of transporting a cargo of leaking and unsecured containers. Steve Overstreet, the owner of Overstreet Trucking of Fontana was cited for five alleged violations, and Chem Lab Products Inc., an Ontario-based company that makes swimming pool supplies and owned the cargo, was cited for six alleged violations.

The cargo allegedly was leaking calcium hypochlorite, a corrosive. The chemical is harmful if inhaled, burns the skin and may create a poisonous gas in a fire, authorities said.

The case was slowly pieced together after investigators of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Environmental Crimes Unit pulled over the truck at the De Soto Avenue exit on the Ronald Reagan Freeway on Oct. 9, 1997, Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Rubin Harsoyo said.

The case took a year to prepare because investigators needed time to make sure the appropriate charges were filed and that the cargo was hazardous, Harsoyo said. Around 70 cases of illegal transport have have been presented to the Los Angeles district attorney’s office this year, he said.

If convicted of any charges, the men face at least $1,000 in fines or six months in jail.