Three people suffered serious injuries when a Chevrolet Malibu and a tractor-trailer carrying heating fuel crashed in Monroe on Wednesday morning, according to police.
Police said Giovanni Thompson, 20, of Bridgeport, was driving southbound on Route 25/Main Street when he crossed over the center line and struck a tractor-trailer traveling northbound around 7:40 a.m. He told police he must have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The tractor-trailer, driven by Robert Colburn, 66, of New Milford, drove off the righthand side of the road. Colburn swerved to miss utility poles and crashed into several large pine trees.
Thompson and a passenger were trapped in the Malibu and had to be extricated, according to police. Police said all three people involved were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Route 25 was closed for hours after one of the tractor-trailer's fuel tanks ruptured, spilling diesel fuel onto the roadway. Police said the tanker carrying heating fuel was not compromised and is not leaking.
Crews from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called to the scene to coordinate the clean-up effort.
Thompson was issued an infraction for failure to drive in the proper lane.
