I-84 Truck Accident Creates Extended Travel Delays

By Andrew Gorosko

SOUTHBURY — A hazardous materials accident near Exit 14 of westbound Interstate 84 closed westbound and eastbound lanes on the highway at the start of the Wednesday morning rush period, creating extended travel delays as motorists jammed adjacent local roads seeking alternate routes around the problem.

 State police closed westbound I-84 between Exits 14 and 15 for almost ten hours. Eastbound I-84 between Exits 13 and 15 was closed down for about two and one-half hours.

During the road closures, motorists who were traveling on the heavily used I-84 between Danbury and Waterbury sought alternate routes, clogging local roads in Southbury, Middlebury, and Woodbury. The accident greatly extended travel times for motorists commuting to work, with westbound traffic backing up to Waterbury.

State police said that at about 5:47 am, westbound tandem tractor-trailer truck driver Oscar Franco, 41, of Monticello, N.Y., who was hauling cargo including 26 containers of the hazardous chemical styrene monomer, spotted a one-car accident just ahead of him, near Exit 14. Franco braked, but lost control of the truck and it struck the disabled 1991 Subaru Legacy driven by Charlie Lantham, 31, of Danbury.

In the jackknife crash, the rear trailer of the tandem trailer truck rolled over. That trailer contained the hazardous chemical. The truck’s fuel tanks also ruptured, spilling diesel fuel onto the highway median.

Ambulances transported Franco and Lantham to area hospitals for treatment of back injuries. Two state troopers also went to the hospital to be treated for exposure to hazardous chemical vapors. A small amount of the hazardous chemical spilled within the rear truck trailer, state police said.

Work crews cleaned up the diesel fuel and chemical spillages during the day in order to reopen the highway’s westbound lanes for the evening rush period.

State police issued Franco an infraction ticket for traveling too fast for conditions.