AURORA | One person was airlifted and another was taken to a local hospital via ambulance following a collision between two trucks in far east Aurora Thursday morning.
Officials with Aurora Fire Rescue responded to the area near East Jewell Avenue and South Powhaton Road shortly before 10 a.m. Sept. 3 to douse a vehicle on fire, according to tweets.
The fire was eventually brought under control, though firefighters worked for several more hours to sop up fuel that spilled from a vehicle involved in the collision on the roadway.
“It turned into a HazMat incident,” said Lt. Ben Pfeiffer, spokesman for Aurora Fire.
The fuel leaked onto the roadway after the drivers of two trucks, one of which appeared to be a dump truck, collided with each other, according to Pfeiffer. Both drivers were adults.
The person who was transported out of the area via helicopter had life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition, Pfeiffer said. The other person did not sustain life-threatening injuries, he said.
Authorities from multiple fire agencies and the city’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space department assisted in the response, according to tweets.
The intersection is expected to remain closed for several hours this afternoon, according to Aurora police. Investigators are looking into what may have precipitated the crash.