Lengthy Travel Delays Follow

I-84 Tractor-Trailer Crash

By Andrew Gorosko

A tractor-trailer truck accident that occurred on eastbound Interstate 84 between Exits 9 and 10 about 3 pm Friday, June 30, snarled traffic at the start of the evening rush, resulting in vehicle backups that lasted several hours and extended to the New York State line.

The accident occurred in the area east of the I-84 bridge that crosses above The Boulevard Extension. Hawleyville and Newtown Hook & Ladder firefighters responded to the crash.

State police said trucker Tewdros Mehari, 33, of Orange Park, Fla., who was driving a 2003 Freightliner tractor, which was hauling a Schneider National trailer, was traveling eastward in the left lane of two lanes, when a vehicle traveling in front of the tractor-trailer truck slowed down in traffic.

To avoid crashing into the vehicle in front of him, Mehari veered to the left, but collided with multiple trees on the highway’s median, state police said.

Mehari was not injured in the crash and refused medical attention. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps went to the scene.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Transportation (DOT) sent staff members to the accident to check for problems.

Hawleyville Fire Lieutenant Bill Brunetti, Sr, served as incident commander at the accident.

After the tractor-trailer truck went out of control, it jackknifed and came to rest down a slope on the median, he said. Diesel fuel escaped from one of the fuel tanks on the truck, he said. It is unclear how much fuel spilled onto the ground.

DEP had the contaminated soil at the accident scene carted away for disposal, Mr Brunetti said.

Three heavy wreckers were sent to the scene to remove the damaged truck from the median.

The accident caused traffic backups on the highway that lasted for more than four hours. Motorists seeking to avoid the gigantic traffic snarl took local roads to avoid the backup, but created congestion on those adjacent roadways.

State police said they issued Mehari violations for following too closely and making an unsafe movement.