A collision between a sedan and a dump truck on Route 202 in Jaffrey Wednesday afternoon caused a significant fuel spill across the highway and led to one driver being taken to the hospital.

According to police reports, a 2023 Nissan Rogue, driven by Antoine Roy, 75, of Jaffrey, was traveling south on Route 202 when it collided with the side of a dump truck, owned by Specialty Solids of Alton Bay and driven by Gary Raymond, 66, of Leominster, Mass., which was traveling north. Jaffrey Fire Chief David Chamberlain said crews responded at 12:56 p.m.

Witnesses on the scene reported that Roy’s vehicle had drifted into the opposite lane, according to police, and that Raymond had attempted to swerve as far into the breakdown lane as possible, but was unable to avoid Roy’s vehicle. 

The impact damaged Roy’s vehicle to the point he could not exit, and Chamberlain said extraction tools were used to pop open the car door to remove him within about 10 minutes of fire crews arriving on scene.

Roy was taken by ambulance to Monadnock Community Hospital, and Chamberlain said he was conscious and alert. According to police reports, the injuries were not life-threatening. Raymond was not injured.

The impact punctured the fuel tank on the dump truck, spilling fuel onto the roadway. Chamberlain estimated as much as half the 120-gallon tank may have been spilled. A fire captain was coincidentally driving by at the time of the crash and stopped, along with another passerby, and began building a dike around the catch basin on the side of the road to keep the  fuel out of the Contoocook River.

“We did contain it from going into the river,” Chamberlain said.

Route 202 was shut down for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, while the spill was contained with sand spread by the Jaffrey Department of Public Works and the Nissan was removed from the roadway by J&J’s Auto Body. The road was then opened to a single lane of traffic while the dump truck was removed by Gauthier Auto Service.