By Christine Dempsey
Journal Inquirer
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. — Part of Interstate 291 was closed at rush hour Monday because of a nine-vehicle crash involving a school van that caused serious injuries, a fire official said.
Six people were injured in the wreck — two seriously — and three declined treatment, said Brian Peck, assistant chief of the South Windsor Volunteer Fire Department. In addition to the school van, a tractor-trailer, two pickup trucks and other vehicles were involved, he said.
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So many ambulances were needed, fire officials declared the crash a “mass casualty incident” and called for help from surrounding communities, Peck said.
The crash happened near Exit 2 around 7:45 a.m., and the highway’s lanes for westbound traffic remained closed past 1 p.m., more than five hours later. By 2 p.m., only the right lane was closed, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The one student in the school van and the driver had minor injuries, Peck said. The van was marked with the letters “CREC,” Peck said, which stands for the Capitol Region Education Council. The organization runs 16 magnet schools in the Hartford area, according to its website. A CREC spokesperson could not be reached for comment Monday.
The crash happened between exits 2 and 1D, the DOT said. In addition to all lanes for westbound traffic, on-ramps were closed, it said.
An accident reconstruction squad from the Connecticut State Police is investigating the crash, Peck said. In addition, a team from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was called to the scene because of what he called a significant amount of vehicle fluids that leaked — including possible diesel fuel from the tractor-trailer. An environmental cleanup company will be working to absorb the fluids, he said.
Peck said the area has been plagued by crashes because of ongoing construction that forces traffic to merge into one lane. The project is expected to continue about another year, he said.
“This section of I-291 Westbound is immediately before the construction area on the Bissell Bridge, where the left lane is permanently closed due to construction,” Peck said. “The lane closure has been causing traffic to back up as far as Exit 2. While there are electronic messaging signs warning to slow down prior to Exit 2, there continue to be accidents in this area when drivers cresting the hill at Exit 2 are suddenly coming upon stopped or slow-moving traffic with little time to react. This combination of limited sight distance and recurring traffic congestion has contributed to multiple serious crashes in this area.”
There was a second, less serious, collision Monday morning when an eastbound driver on Interstate 291 slowed to look at the wreck and got rear-ended, he said.
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