NAUGATUCK — A collision involving a SUV and tractor-trailer Monday afternoon led to a fuel spill and the closure of an intersection for several hours.
The accident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. on Route 63, also known as South Main Street, at the intersection with Salem Bridge, police said.
Naugatuck police spokesman Lt. Colin McAllister said a 2016 Jeep Compass and a tractor-trailer collided. The collision resulted in the 18-wheeler’s fuel tank rupturing, and diesel fuel spilled out, he said.
McAllister said the tractor-trailer was driving south through the intersection when the Jeep, driven by 19-year-old Cheyenne Cruz of Waterbury, hit the driver’s side of the 18-wheeler. Cruz was exiting the Mobil gas station at the intersection, he said.
Cruz was taken to Waterbury Hospital for evaluation of injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening, he said. No other injuries were reported, he said.
Eugene Mercer, 55, of Bridgeport, was driving the tractor-trailer, which is owned by Hogan Truck Leasing LLC of St. Louis, Mo., McAllister said. Mercer and Cruz were the only people in the vehicles at the time of the accident.
The accident is under investigation.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the scene to oversee the cleanup. The intersection and the Route 8 exit 26 off-ramp were closed until almost 9 p.m., McAllister said.
Between 30 to 50 gallons of fuel spilled from the tractor-trailer over about a quarter-mile area of the road, according to DEEP. The state Department of Transportation responded to clean up the spill with sand, and the contaminated sand was disposed of, according to DEEP.
