
A portion of Interstate 495 was shut down on Wednesday afternoon after a motorist cut off a tanker truck, causing a wreck that left both drivers injured.
The accident occurred on December 27th at approximately 2:40 p.m. in Littleton, Massachusetts.
According to Massachusetts State Police, a Ford sedan was traveling along Interstate 495 south near exit 31 when the driver changed lanes, apparently without looking, and cut off the tanker truck. The tanker truck driver attempted to swerve to avoid a collision, but was unable to avoid the contact. The incident resulted in the tanker overturning and landing on top of the sedan.
The force of the collision caused fuel to spill from the tanker and trapped the driver of the sedan inside of his wrecked vehicle. The 41-year-old motorist was trapped for around an hour, but was eventually freed from the wrecked sedan with life threatening injuries, and was transported to a nearby hospital.
The unidentified truck driver also sustained serious injuries, though they are not considered to be life-threatening. He is expected to make a full recovery.
All southbound lanes of I-495 were shut down for several hours as HAZMAT crews worked to clear the wreck and spilled oil, but one left lane has since been reopened.
As of 7 p.m., the crash site was still under investigation and exit 31 remained closed, with one lane of southbound I-495 open.