Two people sustained life-threatening injuries when their vehicle rolled over, ultimately hitting a tree in a multi-car crash on Route 7 south in Norwalk that closed the road for several hours, police said.
One of several vehicles involved in the crash went down an embankment, police said. Norwalk firefighters responded at about 3:15 p.m. after receiving a report of the multi-car crash and that a car "jumped the guardrail," possibly on fire, and veered down an embankment, Norwalk Deputy Chief Edward Prescott said in a statement.
Firefighters extricated two people from the Honda Pilot that "was located '60' off the highway," down a 50-foot embankment, Prescott said.
The car had flipped over multiple times on the highway, ultimately landing "front end down with the rear end wedged against a tree at the edge of the Norwalk River," Prescott said.
Norwalk Hospital paramedics treated the two occupants for life-threatening injuries on scene.
One person from one of the other three to four vehicles involved in the crash was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
An Eversource utility truck also responded to help firefighters secure the car to a tree, "so crews could assess the situation," Prescott said.
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An off-duty dispatcher witnessed the crash and assisted police and firefighters with helping the injured parties.
Route 7 south was closed from exit 2 to exit 1, which heads to the Interstate 95 merger, but the road has since reopened, police said.
The accident also affected traffic on ramps onto the southbound side from the Merritt Parkway and New Canaan Avenue.
An accident reconstruction team investigated the crash.
