LITTLETON, MA (WBZ-AM) -- Clean up crews were on scene Thursday removing oil and soil that at spilled following a major crash on I-495 in Littleton on Wednesday.
Officials say the clean up comes as a result of a crash involving a the tanker truck was carrying nearly 10,000 gallons of heating oil which leaked out on the roadway.
Joe Ferson at Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection tells WBZ NewsRadio1030, that an estimated 1,000 gallons of heating oil spilled onto soil and into a storm drain that leads to a stream that leads to Beaver Brook.
Crews were able to place a boom that prevented prevented oil from reaching the brook keeping in to an access road culvert. There is a ground well nearby that supplies water to Littleton, but it was already off line and will remain off until clean up is complete.
There is no immediate estimate timeline on clean up. Fraticelli Oil, the owner of the oil tanker based in Leominster, MA is assuming cost of clean up.
Massachusetts State Police say that Wednesday's crash occurred near Exit 31 around 2:30 p.m when Ford Focus driven by a 41-year old man from Salisbury, MA was changing lanes and collided with the tractor-trailer. The driver of the tractor-trailer attempted to brake and avoid a crash rolled then coming to rest on top of the car.
The man in the car was trapped, removed and transported by medical helicopter to UMass Memorial in Worcester with serious, life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 52-year-old man from Gardner,MA, was also transported to the same hospital in Worcester with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
The crash caused a 14-mile backup from the crash site all the way to Lowell from the north and to Route 2 from the south.
WBZ NewsRadio1030's Lana Jones reports.