Update: Syringe Spill Snarls Traffic, Driver Oblivious to Accident

Update, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday: Police are now saying the biomedical waste spill that stalled traffic on Green Valley Road for more than two hours Tuesday was an accident and the driver involved is cooperating fully with investigators.

About 40 pounds of medical waste from one of the eight dental offices in the area fell out of the back of a truck operated by Pomona-based Wastestream near Penny Lane around 10:45 a.m., according to Watsonville police Sgt. Brian Ridgway.

The driver was unaware of the spill and continued south on Green Valley. At Main Street, another motorist flagged him down about his open back doors, which he secured and continued on his route.

Another motorist passing the scene of the spill stopped to collect the 5-gallon bucket and 1-quart container that had held the medical waste. A woman saw that driver and reported him to police, leaving officers to believe the medical waste driver had intentionally left thousands of syringes in the road.

Ridgway said Tuesday afternoon that was not true and that the driver involved is cooperating fully with officers. He inventoried his truck and discovered that two containers were missing.

“He was totally unaware he was missing everything," Ridgway said. "It was a pure accident."

Wastestream will be liable for the cost of the cleanup, but it's unlikely the driver will face any charges, Ridgway said.

Original story, 2 p.m. Tuesday: A bio-hazard removal company dropped a load of syringes and other medical waste at Green Valley Road and Penny Lane just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, causing an hours-long traffic problem, authorities reported.

The spill happened about 10:45 a.m. and shut the southbound lanes of Green Valley Road for at least two hours, according to Watsonville police Sgt. Brian Ridgway.

“The roadway was littered with syringes," Ridgway said.

Forty pounds of medical waste was cleaned off the pavement by police officers, fire fighters and city public works employees, Ridgway said

“We were meticulous with the cleanup,'" he said, explaining they first went through with brooms and shovels, then hand-picked anything left behind. A street sweeper made multiple passes through the area before the road was reopened.

The accident also brought northbound vehicles traveling through the area to a near-stop, according an article published on the Register Pajaronian website. The medical waste included used syringes, cotton swabs, scissors, gauze pads and scalpels, the newspaper reported.

"It’s sharps, which are specifically needles or things that can poke you," Ridgway said. "We did the best we could to clean it up."

Police suspect the spill came from a medical waste collector who failed to secure the back door of his truck. The collector stopped after the accident, removed his containers from the mess and drove off, Ridgway said. 

Officers are searching for that driver. Ridgway said he expects it will be a challenging investigation: there are eight dental offices and at least three medical clinics in that area, all of which contract with medical waste removal companies. 

"It’s going to be extremely difficult," Ridgway said.

Possible charges in the case include having an unsecured load and violations related to hazardous waste abandonment.