Congestion was the word of the day from about 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday on Route 8 north and the local roads motorists jammed after the highway was closed because of a wreck.
Traffic lights fell from the sky, a tractor-trailer carrying an over-sized shed crashed, and emergency responders had to use the jaws of life to free a person trapped in a car — yet only one person was sent to the hospital with minor injuries after the chaos.
Precise details were not available Tuesday, but it all started about 12:30 p.m. on Pershing Drive in front of the ShopRite Plaza in Derby when a string of traffic lights came crashing to the ground.
No one Tuesday could answer what specifically caused the lights to fall, but Derby officials noted there was a ton of construction activity along Pershing Drive, where two new shopping centers are being developed.
Police shut down Pershing Drive, including the entrance and exit ramps that lead to Route 8, a stone’s throw from where the lights came down.
Traffic then started to stack up on Route 8 north.
The situation worsened after two car wrecks on the highway.
At about 12:40 p.m. there was a crash in Derby on Route 8 north, and then another on Route 8 south in Derby.
Three cars were involved in one wreck, including the aforementioned trailer hauling a wide load. Two cars were involved in the other wreck.
Only one driver was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Route 8 north closed so state transportation crews could clean a fuel spill from the crash.
With Route 8 a parking lot, people took to the usual side roads in Shelton and Derby to circumvent the problem. Bridgeport and Howe avenue were jammed in Shelton, as were Elizabeth Street and Route 34 in Derby.
Both Derby and Shelton schools sent messages to parents warning about delayed buses because of the traffic issues.
The roads were back to normal at about 3 p.m.
