Members of the and the New York State Police were at the scene of an accident on eastbound Interstate 84 in Southeast Friday.
It happened at about 8:30 a.m. A tractor-trailer flipped just before exit 19 and landed in an embankment, about 100 feet below the roadway.
Tons of emergency responders were still at the scene at 2:45 p.m. Officials at the East Fishkill barracks were unsure how long the cleanup would last.
"It's not affecting traffic," a trooper told Patch. "That's our concern."
Both lanes were open at the time, but a fleet of more than a dozen emergency vehicles on the shoulder of the road did cause motorists to reduce their speed.
The vehicle was carrying batteries, and headed out of state, authorities said. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection responded.
Police are unsure of what caused the crash. The driver was injured and transported to the hospital. Troopers did not have details on his name, age and place of residency.
This story on LoHud.com states that a hazardous materials response team from Putnam County was called in, too. Police were unable to confirm that.
Around 9:15 a.m., traffic was at a standstill, and backed up to exit 18. About 30 minutes later, the right lane was blocked because of emergency vehicles, and traffic was moving in the left lane.
The same was true at 10:15 a.m. At that time, was also at the scene. Cleanup is expected to take several hours.
No other vehicles were involved.
