Truck crash, fuel spill, slow traffic near Oxbow

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON — An accident involving a tractor-trailer at an Interstate 91 construction zone Wednesday afternoon left diesel fuel spilled across the highway and resulted in long delays for drivers.

According to state police trooper William Loiselle, who works in the Northampton barracks, at 12:30 p.m., state police responded to a construction zone near the Oxbow on I-91 north for a report that a tractor-trailer had crashed and was leaking diesel fuel.

The truck, Loiselle said, belonged to Wecare Transportation Co., based in Jordan, N.Y., and was transporting a large amount of steel from Pittsfield to Greenfield. The driver, Stephen Pryor, 26, was reportedly uninjured in the crash.

As a result of the accident, traffic traveling north was limited to one lane for more than five hours while two Department of Environmental Protection vehicles cleaned the reported 25 gallons of spilled gasoline, Loiselle said.

Traffic on the north side of the highway, state police said, was reportedly back to normal by 6:30 p.m.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation and no citations have been issued, Loiselle said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.