Plainfield, CT — State Police indicate the tractor-trailer crash that closed both directions of I-395 Thursday morning, was caused by a tractor-trailer striking an abandoned vehicle in the travel lane after the operator had crashed and fled earlier that night.
According to the Connecticut State Police (CSP) at some point, Wednesday night, December 25th, or early Thursday morning, December 26th, 2024, a 2011 Hyundai Elantra, operated by a 29-year-old Danielson man, was traveling North on I-395 in the area of Exit 28, Lathrop Rd, when it struck the center guardrail and a bridge on the right shoulder before coming to a stop in the travel lane. The Danielson man fled the scene without the accident being reported.
The CSP went on to state, that at approximately 1:35 AM on Thursday, December 26th, a 2025 Volvo TR tractor-trailer, operated by a 49-year-old Cranston RI man, was traveling North in the area of Exit 28 when it swerved to avoid the abandoned vehicle, subsequently rolling over across the Northbound lanes. The tractor-trailer operator explained to Troopers that he saw the Hyundai in the travel lane with no lights but did not have time to maneuver safely out of the lane.
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Interstate 395 was closed for approximately 9 hours to allow for the vehicles to be removed. According to the Plainfield Fire Company, the tractor-trailer was loaded with Liquid Nitrogen which is considered a Hazardous Material (HAZMAT). The gas is non-flammable and non-toxic but had to be removed prior to the tractor-trailer being uprighted and towed from the scene. Personnel on the scene from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) facilitated the venting of the gas causing a harmless vapor cloud in the area.
The Cranston, RI man was transported to Plainfield Backus Hospital by Moosup Ambulance with minor injuries.
Troopers were later able to locate the Danielson man and issued him a misdemeanor summons for the following charges:
- Failure to Maintain Lane (CGS 14-236)
- Evading (CGS 14-224b)
- Improper Parking (CGS 14-251)
- Interfering with Police (CGS 53a-167a)
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