Pictured is the crash scene on I-255 near Dupo on Thursday. (Sean McGowan photo)

Columbia and Dupo emergency personnel assisted Illinois State Police in responding about 3:15 p.m. Thursday to a vehicle crash with serious injury and extrication on I-255 northbound near Dupo.

An Arch medical helicopter was dispatched to the scene and landed on the interstate, shutting down northbound traffic. Interstate traffic was backed up into Missouri as a result of the crash.

A dump truck driven by a 28-year-old St. Louis man went off the roadway to the right and struck a tree at a high rate of speed. Witnesses told police that the passenger side front tire blew out on the truck, which belonged to VM Hauling of Cahokia, causing it to veer off the roadway and into a tree.

Firefighters battled extreme heat during the extrication process, which took more than 45 minutes before the driver was freed from his vehicle. The driver was airlifted to Saint Louis University Hospital with serious injuries.

The name of the driver has not been released. A bus from St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia served as a cooling station for emergency personnel as they handled the crash, providing water and air conditioning.