Cement incident in West End was not an "explosion"

Police said a cement truck pouring a foundation on Maryland Avenue malfunctioned, and dismissed early media reports of an explosion.

Photos by Kristie Arden/Herald

Some of the cement spewed onto a parked car and nearby West School.

Cement hit a parked car.

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A cement truck in the West End malfunctioned early Wednesday morning, spewing cement onto the street, nearby West School and damaging at least one nearby vehicle.

Police dismissed rumors that had spread on social media reporting an explosion on Maryland Avenue near West School.

According to Lt. Edward Ryan, a Long Beach Police Department spokesman, a cement truck pouring a foundation at 100 Maryland Ave. suffered an equipment malfunction on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 19, that resulted in liquid cement being sprayed onto the street and some nearby vehicles.

“The hose mechanism separated from the truck,” Ryan said.

City public works crews responded to assist with the cleanup, which was completed around 11:30 a.m., according to Gordon Tepper, the city's director of communications.

One vehicle reportedly was damaged by the cement, Tepper said. Though some early reports said that windows at West School had been blown out in an explosion, Ryan said that some small amount of cement may have sprayed onto the school.

Damage to a window at the school was clearly visible following the incident on Wednesday, though the area has since been cleaned up. There were no reported injuries.