NOTE: This is an updated version of a story first published on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

At least four people escaped serious injury Tuesday morning, June 8, after a tractor-trailer truck that reportedly swerved to avoid slowed traffic on I-84 East went through the median and ended up on the opposite side of the road. The truck hit one vehicle before it came to a stop on the slow speed shoulder of I-84 West in Hawleyville.

The driver of the 18-wheeler, Bernard H. Logan of Stratford, was issued a misdemeanor for reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to maintain lane.

Connecticut State Police (CSP) report Logan was operating a 2010 Freightliner Cascadia 125 on I-84 East around 8:24 am, when the 57-year-old veered to the left to avoid slowed and stopped traffic in front of him.

The truck traveled over the grass median and entered the westbound lanes of travel approximately one-quarter of a mile east of the Exit 9 off ramp.

As this happened, Inson Hadelman, 63, of Guilford, was operating a 2018 Toyota RAV-4 Unlimited in the slow speed lane of I-84 West, in the immediate area.

Additionally, Sandy Hook resident Ivan N. Volchkov, 34, was operating a 2018 GMC Acadia SLT-2 in the high speed lane, also in the immediate area. Volchkov swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid being hit by the 18-wheeler.

The Acadia went into the median, and “came to an uncontrolled rest,” the CSP report states, atop the grassy hill between the two directional sections of the highway.

The 18-wheeler collided head-on with the cab side of the RAV-4; Hadelman, according to the CSP report, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Newtown Hook & Ladder, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a paramedic, and CSP troopers were all dispatched to the scene following multiple calls to the Newtown Emergency Communications Center.

Initial calls reported the Acadia was dangling in the air following the crash, but responders quickly learned that the vehicle was in fact atop a hill that serves as a barrier between the two directions of travel.

Westbound 84 was closed at the scene. With traffic at a standstill and some responders having difficulty getting to the scene due to the congestion, some responding units were directed to use the Exit 9 West off ramp to access the scene.

Hadelman was transported to a hospital by Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Volchkov and Logan were both uninjured.

An infant in the Acadia with Volchkov was also checked for injuries, but did not need to go to the hospital.

I-84 West was closed for nearly 90 minutes, and then only partially opened for another hour, after the crash Tuesday morning.

Cleanup efforts continued, with wrecker crews working with DEEP to contain a diesel spill from the 18-wheeler’s fuel tanks.

The closure of the highway quickly led to a long backup. Within an hour, traffic was stopped for seven-plus miles, back to the Ichabod Road overpass in Southbury. The backup extended to nearly Exit 14 before one lane of the highway was reopened, which began alleviating some of the congestion.

Traffic on the secondary roads that are used for detours around crashes and other incidents on the highway were also congested. Glen Road, Church Hill Road, and sections of Mt Pleasant and Old Hawleyville roads were bumper to bumper for nearly three hours.

The 18-wheeler and the Toyota were towed from the scene by Hilario’s. Volchkov was able to drive the Acadia away once it was dislodged from the median.

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.