Interstate 495 South Partially Shut Down In Berlin After 4 Trucks Crash

BERLIN (CBS) – Part of Interstate 495 was shut down in Berlin for the morning rush hour after four trucks crashed early Tuesday morning.

State Police said three tractor-trailers and a pickup truck collided in the southbound lanes just after 3 a.m. and one of the tractor-trailers caught fire.

Three people were taken to the hospital, but their injuries were said to be "non-life threatening," according to State Police spokesman Dave Procopio. Fuel spilled onto the road and the cleanup of the wreckage took more than six hours.

The pickup truck was pulling a horse trailer, Procopio said, but there were no horses in it at the time of the crash.

"We heard a loud boom that kind of shook the house, I thought it was lightning," said Jay Omobono, who lives near the crash site off the highway. "I went and looked outside the window and I just saw this ball of fire."

"I was worried about the first responders," Omobono told WBZ-TV. "Pretty incredible that the person got out of that because it was a pretty large fire."

All three southbound lanes of Interstate 495 were initially shut down at exit 26 and traffic was diverted onto Route 62 in Berlin for rush hour.

One lane of traffic was re-opened just after 6 a.m. as the cleanup continued, but there were heavy delays in both directions.

All lanes re-opened around 9:30 a.m.

There's still no word yet on what caused the crash or if any charges will be filed.

"There has been other crashes there, minor ones, but it seems to be a place where a lot of things happen," Omobono said.

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• Interstate 495