Oil spill gnarls traffic along EDSA

 At least 100 gallons of cooking oil spilled along EDSA near Balintawak market in Quezon City early yesterday morning, causing motorists to skid until they drove past the oil slick.

Superintendent Norberto Babagay, chief of the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said he had to request firefighters to pump water on the road to remove the cooking oil.

“There were some motorists who skidded on the slippery road,” Babagay said in an interview.

There were no reported injuries caused by the oil, which came from a an Elf truck that fell on its side near Olivares street at around 6 a.m. The driver, Edgardo Angeles, claimed the incident was caused by a mechanical defect. The QCPD-Traffic Sector 8 said Angeles has been taken into custody.

The truck (WGU-391) was bound for Monumento in Caloocan and was carrying more than 100 gallons of locally manufactured cooking oil, which covered a portion of the road and caused minor traffic congestion in the area for a few hours.

According to Babagay, authorities were able to wipe away the oil slick and clean the road at around 10 a.m.

The investigation of the incident was turned over the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.