No Serious Injuries—

Big Truck Destroys Small Truck In I-84 Crash

By Andrew Gorosko

State police said that at about 7:07 pm on July 9, the driver of a pickup truck on westbound Interstate 84 stalled on a travel lane of the highway and was then unable to get the truck off the road, after which the pickup truck was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer truck.

The intense rear-end impact destroyed the commercial pickup truck, but its driver received only minor injuries, according to state police.

The accident, which occurred on the I-84 bridge that crosses above Alpine Drive in the Riverside section, caused travel delays on westbound I-84 as emergency crews cleaned up after the crash and state police investigated. The accident occurred about 1,500 feet west of the Rochambeau Bridge.

State police said that Jason Owens, 34, of Stamford, who was driving a commercial Ford Ranger pickup truck westward on the highway, stalled in a travel lane.

Robert Levesque, 49, of Putnam, who was driving a tractor-trailer truck in the same lane, was unable to stop and then struck the rear-end of the pickup truck, destroying it, state police said. The tractor-trailer truck received heavy front-end damage.

Both men were able to get themselves out of the damaged trucks, said Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead.

The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported Owens to Danbury Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, state police said. Owens was treated and then released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Chief Halstead said that the rear section of the pickup truck received heavy damage in the impact, absorbing much of the force of the crash. The pickup truck flipped over after the impact.

The accident resulted in some diesel fuel leaking from the tractor-trailer truck and some automotive fluids leaking from the pickup truck, he said. Firefighters used absorbent materials to contain the spillage.

Also, some wreckage from the crash landed on Alpine Drive adjacent to the highway, Chief Halstead said.

The tractor-trailer truck was carrying a cargo of bleach and acid, but those fluids did not spill in the accident, Chief Halstead said.

More than two dozen Sandy Hook firefighters went to the accident scene.

Initially, one lane of the three-lane section of westbound I-84 at the accident scene was opened to traffic, after which full three-lane traffic flow resumed on the highway, the fire chief said.

Enforcement information on the accident was not available from state police.