A tractor-trailer that leaked human waste is being blamed by Connecticut State Police for causing at least 10 vehicle accidents this week along busy Interstate 95.
The accidents happened in Bridgeport around 10:30 p.m. Monday and involved two state police cruisers, according to reports filed by police.
"Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that... a 2017 Mack truck bearing Connecticut registration [redacted] (towing a 2018 Clement trailer bearing Connecticut registration [redacted]), had an unsecured load leaking human waste in the travel lanes of Interstate 95 northbound causing slick conditions," read one of the police reports.
"The operator, identified as Shaky Joseph, who was aware of the leak, was subsequently taken into custody and charged with Unsecured Load, Reckless Driving, and 12 counts of Reckless Endangerment: 1st Degree," police also said.
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The reports indicated that 10 vehicles were involved in accidents, according to The Associated Press.
Troopers said they found the driver after witnesses reported the company name seen on the truck. Authorities contacted the company, H.I. Stone & Son, which then called the driver and told him to pull over and wait for police, state police said.
Joseph, who police say "did not stop and exited I-95 northbound onto the local streets," then was arrested.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed for around three hours while first responders cleaned up the roadway.
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In one of the accidents, two Connecticut State Police cruisers were hit after they were parked and left unoccupied along the median of the highway.
The troopers associated with those vehicles were "assisting with a slick roadway and multiple vehicles involved in collisions" and left them with their "emergency lights activated at the time," according to police.
An accident report said the driver of a tractor-trailer moving through the area "lost control on the slick roadway" and collided with one of the police vehicles, pushing it forward into the other.
No injuries were reported in the crashes.
"The Connecticut Department of Transportation, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Troop I and the Bridgeport Police and Fire Department responded to assist," state police said.
Joseph has been released on $25,000 bond and is set to appear in court on Aug. 8.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
