An unusual two-vehicle head-on accident on Interstate 84 late on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 18, resulted in several people being injured, with one man requiring extrication from an SUV involved in the crash, officials said.

The collision occurred on I-84, west of the Exit 9 interchange, in the general area where the boundaries of Newtown, Brookfield, and Bethel meet.

The incident resulted in extensive travel delays on both sides of the highway during the evening rush.

State police said motorist Manuel Suiberto Camas Urgiles, 49, of Danbury was driving a 2008 Honda CR-V SUV, which was carrying two passengers, westward in the left lane of I-84, as motorist Miguel A. Batista Barreiro, 33, of Waterbury was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu sedan eastward in the left lane of I-84.

At that time, traffic on eastbound I-84 slowed due to rush hour congestion and the Chevrolet driver swerved to the left to avoid striking the vehicle in front of him, state police said. The Chevrolet then went out of control and drove onto a hardened snow bank which was adjacent to the merallic flex-beam guardrailing on the median, went over that guradrailing and then entered the eastbound lanes, colliding head-on with the Honda, officials said.

Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company Chief John Basso, who was incident commander, said a witness to the crash told him that the Chevrolet became airborne before colliding with the Honda.

The snow bank that abutted the guardrailing apparently functioned as a ramp, launching the Chevrolet onto the opposite side of the highway.

Hawleyville firefighters extricated the Chevrolet driver from the sedan in which he was trapped due to crash damage, Chief Basso said. The extrication took about 20 minutes, he said.

According to state police, the drivers of the Chevrolet and the Honda, as well as two passengers in the Honda were transported to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries.

“They’re all lucky to be alive,” Chief Basso said of those involved in the accident, noting the unusual dynamics of the crash and the highway speeds involved in the incident. The intensity of the impact was obvious from the extensive damage to both vehicles, he said.

Eleven Hawleyville firefighters responded to the accident.

Traffic delays in both directions on I-84 lasted more than an hour, Chief Basso said.

State police said they issued Barreiro, the Chevrolet driver, an infraction for traveling too fast for conditions. State police gave the Honda driver, Urgiles, an infraction for driving without a license.