Three fire companies, two ambulance crews, a paramedic, a heavy-duty wrecker, and state troopers all responded to I-84 West last week after a full-size pickup truck went down an embankment.

The male driver was extricated from the vehicle, which crashed hard into a tree, and was taken to the hospital for suspected minor injuries, according to the Connecticut State Police (CSP) report.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue (SHVFR), Newtown Hook & Ladder, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NVAC), and the medic were initially dispatched to I-84 West approximately one-mile east of Exit 11 after CSP reported a 2002 Ford F-350 Super Duty had gone off the road there. The dispatch went out just after 3 pm Thursday, August 5.

The truck, operated by George S. Vance, 42, of Ansonia, reportedly went down the embankment from the high speed side of the highway after Vance lost control of the vehicle. The cause of the incident is not noted in the CSP report.

A paramedic was first to arrive at the scene, and reported the truck was 20 to 30 feet down the embankment.

SHVFR Chief Bill Halstead, who had command of the scene, agreed with that assessment.

Approximately 25 firefighters responded to the scene, and Halstead called for a Southbury Volunteer Fire Association rescue truck a Southbury ambulance with personnel shortly after arriving at the crash scene.

Members of all three fire companies descended the steep embankment to rescue the driver.

“I sent people down as I needed them,” Halstead said.

Halstead also called for the backup ambulance to be ready in the event that any of the first responders were injured during the rescue operation.

“It was a pretty good incline,” Halstead said. “It wasn’t the best place to be.”

Firefighters first needed to stabilize the F-350 before they could begin to get to the driver. It took 14 minutes, Halstead said, to extricate the man from the vehicle.

“To access, they cut out the windshield and roof,” he said. Two of the cab’s support posts were also cut so rescuers could get to the driver.

During the rescue, the high speed and travel lanes of I-84 were closed.

NVAC transported Vance to the hospital once he was brought up to the roadway.

A heavy-duty wrecker from Hilario’s Service Center responded to the scene. Halstead called for the truck, initially expecting to need its service during the call, “but we didn’t end up doing anything with that,” he said this week. The wrecker was utilized by the Hilario’s crew after first responders had cleared away from the Ford.

Firefighters and medical personnel were at the site for approximately 80 minutes.

Westbound traffic was backed up for miles, well into Southbury, during and after the rescue operation.

Vance was issued an infraction for failure to maintain a lane.

A Nuvance/Danbury Hospital spokesperson on August 9 had no information available on his condition. The CSP report noted Vance was transported with suspected minor injuries.

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