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Fairfield firefighters were among the dozens of first responders to report to the accident scene at about 10 a.m. The tractor-trailer struck the Kings Highway Cutoff Bridge, causing damage to the structure, and slammed through the guard rail, said Assistant Chief George Gomola.
When firefighters arrived at the crash scene on the northbound side of the highway, they found the tractor-trailer had rolled over onto the driver's side and was heavily damaged, said Gomola, the incident commander.
"Fairfield firefighters did an amazing job of removing the driver from the wreckage in a safe and timely manner. I have never seen steel guard rail wrapped around inside a vehicle like it had in this incident," Gomola said. "This was a very difficult extrication that resolved quite quickly due to high level of training and professionalism demonstrated by our firefighters."
The truck driver was transported to Bridgeport Hospital after firefighters used heavy rescue equipment to cut the roof off the truck and the guard rail pinning him inside the vehicle, he said. As of Thursday afternoon, the driver was reported in extremely critical condition, fire officials said.
Authorities said the accident was causing a traffic backup for 11 miles or more all the way to Exit 13 in Norwalk for over three hours after the crash.
The accident was between Exit 23 for Route 1 and Exit 24 for Black Rock Turnpike. It blocked two right lanes of I-95 northbound and closed Exit 23 in Fairfield. It also caused traffic delays along the Post Road in in town, Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara said via Twitter.
Other first responders included officials from Fairfield Police, State Police, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, state Department of Transportation, and CTR (Connecticut Tank Recovery).
Mutual aid units from Bridgeport and Westport assisted with station coverage and incident response in Fairfield.
The roadway on the Kings Highway overpass was reduced to a single lane awaiting inspection by DOT of the damage.
State police were investigating the cause of the crash.
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