Two people were seriously injured after a tractor-trailer collided with a car and rolled over on Interstate 495 in Littleton, Massachusetts, on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a hazardous materials situation and trapping a driver.
The accident occurred around 2:40 p.m. near Exit 31 by the Littleton-Chelmsford line, where the tanker fell on top of a 2014 Ford Focus, trapping the sedan's driver.
Massachusetts State Police say the driver of the Ford Focus, a 41-year-old Salisbury man identified by his brother as Christopher Beausoleil, was changing lanes when he collided with the tractor-trailer. The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 52-year-old Gardner man, tried to brake and avoid crashing, but ended up rolling off the roadway and onto the Ford Focus.
"I thought he was dead, or he was going to have some kind of paralyzing injury," Matthew Beausoleil said of his brother. "The way that the tanker fell on the roof of his car, it had crushed the car pretty far down and he was pinned for a long time."
Rescue crews were able to get Beausoleil out of the vehicle. He was taken by medical helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to the same hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
"I am extremely relieved that he's not dead," Matthew Beausoleil said. "I really feared the worst when I saw the wreckage."
All southbound lanes were initially closed, but the left lane has since reopened. Major traffic delays were reported. Northbound lanes remained open.
