🚀 go-pugleaf

"Scott M. Kozel" <kozelsm@mediaone.net> wrote:
> 

The _Washington Post_ article made it sound like it was just as bad in
Maryland.

Someone at the office today said that New Jersey had a lot of similar
problems.

Let's look at what the newspapers said about it --

_Washington Post_ --

> "The accident scene was three miles long.  Witnesses said motorists fled
> their vehicles for their lives as more cars skidded into the chain of
> crumpled metal and smashed glass at Aquia, in Stafford County.  They
> said people were driving too fast for the suddenly thick snowfall and
> slick asphalt shortly before 11 a.m."
> 
> "Crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation began spreading
> chemically treated rock salt in that area of I-95 as the snow began
> falling, said assistant resident engineer Rob Crandol at VDOT.  But
> Latina Bundy, a spokeswoman for VDOT in Fredericksburg, said that the
> onset of the storm about 10:30 a.m. was furious and that whiteout
> conditions settled over the interstate, blinding motorists".
> 
> "In Maryland, the pace was similarly frantic".
> 
> "There were "accidents everywhere," according to the Maryland State
> Police.  Trooper J. Eichelberger said conditions were "deceivingly bad
> because they give you the idea they don't look too bad, and before you
> know it, you're sliding all over the place.""
> 
> "Snow began falling heavily in Prince George's County about 11 a.m., and
> within two hours, there had been 140 accidents involving minor injuries,
> said Mark Brady, spokesman for the county's fire and emergency medical
> services.  "And in the [next] hour, we got 70 additional calls," he
> said."
> 
> "Among the more serious accidents was a 38-car pileup about 11 a.m. on
> the inner loop of the Beltway near Branch Avenue, Brady said. Within
> minutes, 15 vehicles were involved in an accident on the outer loop of
> the Beltway near Central Avenue.  Officials closed the Beltway at both
> Central Avenue and Branch Avenue for nearly an hour to clear both
> accidents".
> 
> "North of Baltimore, there was a 40-car pileup on northbound I-95 and an
> eight-car collision on southbound I-95".
> 
> "In Calvert County, a school bus collided with a car, and 30
> high-schoolers were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and
> released".

Remainder at --
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43244-2001Feb22.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

_Richmond Times-Dispatch_ --

"Hundreds of cars, buses and trucks crashed on snow-slick roads across
Virginia yesterday, killing at least two people and injuring scores more
in the worst day of weather-inspired traffic accidents in memory".

"The morning drive-time storm created mass traffic accidents statewide,
blocking key Virginia interstate highways, straining police and rescue
services, fouling mass transit schedules, stranding travelers and
closing schools and government offices".

"After a day of wrecks and traffic jams, the Virginia Department of
Transportation expected most interstates to be open by this morning,
though conditions could be hazardous.  Temperatures rising into the 50s
will melt the snow and improve travel".

"Moving fast, the morning storm quickly dropped 2 to 5 inches of snow
over most of the state before moving up the Atlantic coast.  A weather
observer in Richmond recorded 3.5 inches of snow, while 3 inches fell in
Henrico County's Sandston area".

"Falling on relatively warm roads, the snow melted, then refroze to
create the driving hazard, weather officials said, making highways slick
as soapy glass".

"State transportation officials said they had posted thousands of
chemical-laden trucks along Virginia's highways before the snow started,
but the storm blitzed the roadways".

""The snow started really fast and visibility was near zero," said Tina
Bundy of the VDOT station in Fredericksburg.  "People panicked.""

"According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington, the
116-vehicle crash in Stafford, while extremely large, is not a national
record".

"Apparently the largest pileup in U.S. history was one involving more
than 200 vehicles on Interstate 10 in San Bernadino, Calif., on April
30, 1999, said the foundation's Stephanie Faul, and the world's largest
seems to be a 250-vehicle plus crash in Belgium".

Remainder at --
http://www.timesdispatch.com/MGBVELLFJJC.html


"The chain-reaction collision involving 16 passenger vehicles and five
tractor-trailers was triggered by the blinding snowstorm that swept
through central Virginia.

""It was basically a white-out," said Suttles, 47, who was caught up in
the spectacular crash".

""The main problem was that the snow came down so fast and so hard - and
it was a wet snow - that it made conditions on the roadway very slick
very quickly," Geller said.  The wreck "basically started with one
vehicle and a chain reaction followed"."

Remainder at --
http://www.timesdispatch.com/MGBIV7JAJJC.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

_Virginian Pilot_ (Hampton Roads) --

"``The problem, according to the troopers who were out there, is that it
just came down so fast and it just blanketed everything,'' said Corinne
Geller, a spokeswoman for the Richmond division of the state police".

"She said one trucker caught in one of the wrecks said there was almost
no chance to slow as visibility dropped to near nothing".

"``One minute the roads were clear and the next minute, everything was
white,'' Geller said."

"Snow was falling so swiftly that other drivers did not see vehicles
stopping ahead of them".

"The storm ended as swiftly as it began, and by late afternoon, the line
of precipitation had moved out of most of Virginia as the storm headed
northeast".

Remainder at --
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0223sto.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Governor Jim Gilmore today praised state agencies and localities for
their outstanding efforts in responding to yesterday's storm related
traffic accidents.  The Governor singled out the Virginia Departments of
Transportation, Emergency Management, and State Police, as well as all
local responders for their outstanding efforts.  The Governor further
directed the accident clean up to continue and called for detailed
investigations of the crashes". 

""I commend and thank the hundreds of men and women - state and local,
volunteer and professional - who assisted so many during what for all
involved must have seemed to be a daytime nightmare.  They went beyond
just doing their jobs.  They responded under dangerous and difficult
circumstances in the best Virginia tradition of assisting fellow
citizens in need"."

"Computerized dispatch figures reveal that State Police were called to
1,520 vehicle crashes between 5 a.m. and midnight Thursday. On an
average Thursday for the same timeframe, State Police respond to 247
crash calls.  Nearly 1,000 members of the Virginia State Police were
involved.  They included 735 uniformed State Troopers and sergeants, as
well as members of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Safety
Division who assisted".

"Twenty-two major incidents were reported, involving more than 400
vehicles. Most of these were on interstate highways".

"Three of Thursday's storm-related incidents resulted in significant
fires -- Goochland, Stafford and the Lexington-Rockbridge County area. 
The Goochland crash resulted in 17 vehicles burned".

Remainder at --
http://www.thedigitaldominion.com/press/news2001/acct0223.cfm

--
Scott M. Kozel    Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley   http://www.pennways.com