One person has died after a fiery crash involving multiple tractor-trailers that closed part of Interstate 91 south in Windsor on Tuesday morning.
Two tractor-trailers were involved in the crash near exit 39 before they caught on fire shortly before 1 a.m., state police said.
They said one vehicle was parked on the right shoulder of I-91 South, between the onramps to exits 40 and 41 when another truck went off the road and struck the first truck, according to state police.
The driver of the truck that struck the first one died, according to state police. Police have not been able to identify the person who died, they said.
Video from the scene shows flames shooting out of the back of one tractor-trailer and thick gray smoke.
Dozens of first responders worked to extinguish the blaze.
Fire officials said they used firefighting foam containing the potentially hazardous chemical PFAS to put it out. It took about an hour and a half because the fire was so deep-seeded.
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Firefighters said they did everything they could to keep the firefighting foam from getting into any waterways. There was only one drain way down the road. It is unclear if anything did get into the waterways.
“We were in the house watching the TV and myself on the computer and we heard a loud bang and it was so loud. It sounded like a bomb going off, so we both go up immediately and my wife looks out the window and she saw the fire. I mean it was a raging fire with two trucks,” said John Bosch, of Windsor.
The southbound side of Interstate 91 between exits 40 and 38A was closed, state Department of Transportation officials said.
Shortly after 6 a.m., two lanes of the highway reopened. There is no estimate for when the highway will fully reopen.
The accident reconstruction team has been called in to try and figure out the cause of the crash.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Troop H.
