(Updated) Fire Crews, Commuters Contend With Early Morning I-84 Accident

Updated, May 17 @ 8 p.m.

A Tolland man and a man from Vernon were taken to the hospital this morning for treatment of minor injuries sustained in an accident after the Tolland man lost control of his vehicle while traveling in the center lane of I-84 West between exits 67 and 68 and caused a five-car pile-up, according to state police. 

Joel Johnson, 48, of 52 Woodfield Dr., Tolland, was traveling in the center lane in his 2000 Porsche 911 when he lost control of the vehicle, skidded across the highway to the left, subsequently causing the multi-car accident, according to police.

Bashrat Ali, 51, of 17 Regan St., Apt. A74, Vernon, was driving his 2007 Toyota Camry and was one of the other four vehicles involved, according to police.

Both Johnson and Ali were taken by the Tolland Fire Department ambulance to Rockville General Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to police and fire officials.

Others involved in the accident include:

Leo Sutter, 56, of Spenser, MA, who was driving a 2009 Ford Ranger pick-up truck;

Michael Armstrong, 31, of Eayon, OH, who was driving a tractor-trailer truck; and

Daniel Desouza, 39, of Hartford, who was driving a 2002 Hyundai Accent.

Police said the case is closed and enforcement action has been taken, however no further details were available Tuesday night.

Original story:

Two people were sent to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries Monday morning, the result of a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 84 West that tied up commuter traffic for hours.

Personnel from the Tolland Fire Department, the Connecticut State Police, state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Transportation, in addition to several private contractors, "labored in driving rain for more than 7 hours" Monday morning to clear the site, according to Tolland fire Public Information Officer Seale Tuttle.

In an e-mail, Tuttle wrote that the accident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. in the west bound lane of I-84 just west of Mountain Spring Road and between exits 68 and 67. 

The drivers of the two cars, which were severely damaged, were taken by Tolland Fire Department ambulance to Rockville General Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The identities of the drivers were not available Monday afternoon.

A tractor-trailer truck carrying a load of recyclable plastic products was also involved in the accident, according to police and fire personnel. The driver of the truck was not injured after it rolled on its side and down into a gully on the north side of the interstate. A fourth vehicle, a pick-up truck, was also involved. No details were available about the pick-up truck or its driver Tuesday afternoon.

Before righting the tractor-trailer, crews drained the truck’s fuel tanks. Several heavy-duty wreckers were brought to the scene to assist due to the difficulty of moving the truck in the mud. Work to remove the tractor-trailer truck was still ongoing at 2 p.m. In his e-mail Tuttle wrote that westbound traffic was halted several times to permit emergency vehicles to gain access to the scene, and traffic was restricted to two lanes throughout the period of the work. 

The accident remains under investigation by state police.

Fire crews and others struggled at times to remove the damaged vehicles because of the periodic bouts of heavy rain, and a second accident in the same spot involving a car and a second tractor-trailer truck that took place at approximately 11:30 a.m., according to Tuttle. No one was injured in the second accident.

 Check back later to Tolland Patch for more information on this accident.