Drivers In Fiery I-84 Tractor-Trailer Crash Identified
State police on Saturday identified the drivers of two tractor-trailers involved in a fiery crash on I-84 Friday as a Minnesota man and a resident of North Branford.
Timothy Dobson, 57, of Minnesota, was flown to Hartford Hospital after the crash, but he has since been released, said Michaela Donnelly, spokeswoman for the hospital.
Walter Palasiewski, 57, of Gail Drive in the Northford section of North Branford, was taken to Rockville General Hospital. His condition was not available.
Police said Palasiewski was traveling behind Dobson on I-84 east at about 3:25 p.m. when his truck crashed into the back of Dobson's tractor-trailer near Exit 70.
Palasiewski's truck, which was carrying containers of olive oil, caught fire. The oil leaked into nearby Roaring Brook, according to Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes of the highway, and they weren't reopened until the early morning hours Saturday.
Palasiewski was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Cottrell Truck Lines Inc. Dobson was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Transport 21 Inc.