NORWICH – A tractor trailer accident that took place Friday at approximately 2:17 p.m. left two seriously injured and closed down a section of state Highway 12 in the Town of Norwich for approximately one hour.

A 2001 Freightliner, operated by Clarence Brown, 33, Texas, was traveling east down the hill of County Road 44 (known collegially as Country Club Road) when authorities believe the vehicle experienced mechanical issues with its brakes. Unable to come to a halt at the stop sign located at the bottom of the hill and its intersection with state Highway 12, the tractor trailer sped through traffic, clipping the rear end of a 1999 Plymouth operated by Brian Moore, 43. The tractor trailer then exited the road. Before the Freightliner left the road, Robert Johnson, 29, of Louisiana, a passenger, jumped from the moving vehicle’s cabin onto the road, injuring his legs. There were no skid marks, noted authorities, indicating that the tractor trailer had not braked before it left the roadway. Luckily, no one in the Plymouth was injured and the only damage the vehicle sustained was to its bumper.

Upon arrival, the Norwich Fire Department discovered the tractor trailer hanging off the roadway and down a 50 foot embankment. Brown was still entrapped within the vehicle’s cabin and Johnson was laying in the roadway.