Soil testing continues nearly five weeks after an oil truck rollover in southern Newtown.

Residents of New Lebbon Road, and those who use the north-south road that connects High Bridge and High Rock roads, must continue to use caution when rounding one corner due to testing equipment still in place.

Paul Copleman, media relations manager for CT DEEP, told The Newtown Bee this week that monitoring wells remain in place “to check for any further contamination.”

DEEP staff are checking the wells regularly, he said.

“They send equipment down to check whether any oil is in the well and can suck it out if need be,” he added.

There is no indication when the wells and other equipment will be removed from New Lebbon. They have been in place since the morning of October 31, after a 41-year-old male lost control of and rolled an oil truck he was operating on that road around 7:25 pm.

Newtown Police report Daniel Irizarry of Naugatuck was operating a 2002 International 400 Series 4400 oil tanker on New Lebbon when the truck left the roadway, struck a utility pole on the southern shoulder, and then crossed the road, rolling onto the driver’s side.

The truck came to rest on the northern shoulder east of 82 New Lebbon, between that road’s intersections with High Rock Road and Beagle Trail. The vehicle was registered to Parkway Oil Company of Stratford.

The crash pulled in firefighters from Botsford and Sandy Hook, who began working to contain the 2,200 gallons of home heating oil in the truck at the time of the crash.

It also called in Public Works employees, who began delivering dump trucks filled with sand to cover the roadway.

Due to the amount of hazardous materials spilled, CT DEEP was contacted immediately. The road was closed for hours following the crash.

Botsford Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Pete Blomberg said the oil “was coming out pretty good” when he and other first responders arrived. Firefighters and DEEP used tarps to funnel the leaking oil out of the truck into a temporary catch basin.

DEEP contacted Moran Environmental Recovery, which sent an evacuation truck to finish pulling the oil out of the tank.

It took more than two hours for the oil to be fully unloaded from the truck. While firefighters and DEEP employees were able to contain what was spilling until the evacuation truck arrived, Blomberg said “possibly a couple hundred gallons” escaped onto the road and into the adjacent wooded area.

DEEP representatives were on scene for hours, evaluating whether the road is going to need to be dug up and replaced.

Eversource was also contacted due to damage to one of the utility poles struck by the oil truck.

=====

Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.