The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed in Westport on Friday after the truck struck the Sasco Creek Road Bridge on Friday morning.

Details about the Fatal Tractor-Trailer Accident

The Connecticut Post has reported that a tractor-trailer hit the Sasco Creek Road Bridge on Interstate 95 on Friday morning, killing the driver.

The crash happened between exits 18 and 19 and shut down several of the northbound lanes backing up to Exit 17 just before noon while emergency crews form Fairfield and Westport attempted to extract the driver from the cab of the vehicle.

An accident report from one of the state troopers who responded to the scene of the accident indicates that 43-year-old Issiaga Toure of Providence, Rhode Island, was driving the truck in the northbound lanes when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle drifted off the roadway when it struck and went through a metal beam guardrail.

After hitting the guardrail, the truck then hit a lamp pole and a metal highway sign before finally hitting the bridge support beams for the Sasco Creek Road overpass.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Traffic was backed up for nearly ten miles after the accident, and up to 11 gallons of fuel and other liquids from the truck poured onto the roadway.

Details about Trucking Accidents in Connecticut

According to the US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• In 2012, traffic fatalities in the United States involving large trucks increased 4 percent from the previous year.
• In 2012 in Connecticut, there were 14 fatal accidents involving large trucks.
• In 2012, large trucks accounted for 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal accidents in the United States.