UPDATE: Route 63 Reopened After Tractor Trailer Crash

Story updated at 5:45 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19

NAUGATUCK -- A motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer on Route 63 Thursday evening spilled about 120 gallons of diesel fuel into the roadway and caused it to be closed in both directions for several hours. The road was reopened as of 4:30 a.m. Friday, police said.

The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. at 1221 New Haven Road, or Route 63, near the Beacon Valley Business Centre, where Slainte Pub and Eatery is located. The crash involved a tractor trailer and a car; the rig also struck a utility pole, which snapped and landed on the trailer. Only the drivers were in both vehicles and both refused medical attention, Naugatuck fire officials said.

After the accident, Naugatuck firefighters set up dams to control the fuel, which spilled when the rig ruptured its fuel tank. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and one of its subcontractors were working Thursday night with those who control hazardous materials to clean up the spill, firefighters said.

The accident remains under investigation, police said.