State police report that early on the morning of December 9, a trucker hauling a load of live poultry, including 5,164 chickens and ducks, was involved in a rollover accident on Interstate 84, spilling some of its avian cargo onto the highway, resulting in a major cleanup project.

The incident also resulted in a diesel fuel spill, requiring the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to have an environmental cleanup firm respond to the scene to remove the petroleum contamination caused by that spill.

State police said that trucker Estanislao Garcia-Lopez, 49, of Marietta, Penn., was driving a 2016 Mack tractor-trailer truck eastward on I-84, just west of the Rochambeau Bridge at the Lake Zoar section of the Housatonic River, at about 6 am, when for an unknown reason, the truck traveled onto the right road shoulder and then struck a concrete barrier wall, causing the truck to roll over and land on its right side. Garcia-Lopez was not injured.

The state Department of Agriculture (DoAg) sent a crew to the scene to inspect and aid with the cleanup work. DoAg spokesman Steven Jensen said, "It was really a mess."

Mr Jensen said that containers holding about half of the 5,164 fowl fell off the truck. Most of the cargo was chickens, he said. Approximately 1,500 birds died in the incident, he added.

The poultry that survived the crash was shipped to its destination in Scotland, Conn., Mr Jensen said. The dead birds were sent to an incinerator in eastern Connecticut for disposal, he said.

The town's animal control unit also aided at the scene. Sandy Hook and Southbury volunteer firefighters responded, as did Southbury's ambulance staff.

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead said Sandy Hook firefighters spent about 3½ hours at the incident. During the cleanup, eastbound traffic on I-84 in that area was reduced to one travel lane, he said.

Firefighters worked to contain and isolate the spilled diesel fuel after arriving at the incident, Chief Halstead said.

The tractor-trailer truck received disabling damage in the crash and was towed away. State police said they issued Garcia-Lopez an infraction for failure to maintain the travel lane.