Saturday, January 09, 1999
Icy roads cause accidents
One salt truck flips, another strikes car
BYMICHAEL D. CLARK and PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A city snowplow flipped on Columbia Parkway when the driver tried to avoid sliding cars in front of him.
(Ernest Coleman photo)
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Tristate drivers should expect icy roads again this morning after a night of freezing rain and light snow.
The good news: We shouldn't see any measurable precipitation today - and maybe not until Tuesday.
Friday's daylong rain, which followed an overnight snowfall of 2-4 inches, caused treacherous driving and a lot of accidents.
In Clermont County, a salt truck collided with a car on Ohio 132 in Batavia late Friday, police said. At least one person was believed to be seriously injured, but no further details were available.
In Cincinnati, a Cincinnati salt truck flipped onto its side along Columbia Parkway as its driver tried to to avoid an accident. The driver, Willie Stallworth, was not seriously injuried.
“He did a good job of avoiding what could have become a serious tragedy,” said Dennis Meyer, superintendent of highways.
A large awning collapsed under the weight of snow and ice at the BP station at State Route 128 and I-74 in Miamitown. No one was injured.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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Supervisors sent Mr. Stallworth to the highway about 8:40 p.m. fearing it was be coming icy. It had.
As Mr. Stallworth neared Martin Drive he watched two cars spin out in front of his large dump truck. As Mr. Stallworth maneuvered to avoid hitting the cars, his truck flipped, spilling its full load of salt, Mr. Meyer said.
The truck slid into the cars, but avoided a serious collision that could have led to injuries, Mr. Meyer said.
Cinergy crews worked through the night responding to power outages affecting about 15,000 people in the Colerain Township area and a similar amount near Middletown.
The main culprits were fallen, icy tree limbs, and cars sliding into utilty poles, said spokeswoman Kathy Meinke.
Besides turning roadways icy, the daylong rain left some roads with pools of water after snow-clogged sewers left runoff nowhere to go.
The city dispatched 106 trucks to battle the icy conditions Friday night. With several inches of snow forecast for this morning, they were trying to get a jump on the weather and clear the slush left over from previous storms, Mr. Meyer said.
The city sewer department sent seven crews to clear sewer inlets that were blocked with snow, to provide drainage for ponds of icy water that were freezing over on some streets.
He urged residents clearing walks and driveways to not pile the snow near fire hydrants or sewer inlets.
In Northern Kentucky, the foul weather was blamed for minor fender benders and for worsening some potholes on main thoroughfares.
Stretches of Interstate 75 were closed so that crews could repair the potholes.
Around 9 p.m., a southbound stretch of near Kyles Lane in Kenton County was closed for a half-hour. Later, the northbound highway was closed for further repairs.
In Boone County, two lanes of southbound I-75 were closed near the 173 mile marker because of pot holes.
The weather was blamed for a range of emergencies.
Colerain Township paramedics revived a Groesbeck man who suffered a heart attack while using a snowblower Friday to clear his driveway.
Gerald Seymour, 63, was found about 9 a.m. Friday in his driveway in the 3300 block of Rocker Drive, said Dave Jennings, a Colerain Township spokesman. Paramedics said he had no vital signs when they arrived at the scene, but he had a pulse by the time they arrived at Franciscan Hospital-Mount Airy Campus. He was in critical condition at the hospital.
A tow-truck driver helped a hysterical mother after she accidentally locked her 7-month-old boy in a car in the parking lot of a Mason hotel.
Julie Snee, a school teacher from New Jersey who was visiting family in the area, was unloading her rental car Monday at the Hampton Inn off Beach Boulevard around 11:30 p.m. when she accidently locked in her baby.
The temperature was in the single digits and Ms. Snee's son, Dillon, was in a child-restraint seat in the back seat.
She called police but they were unable to open the car doors because of its anti-theft features. For 90 minutes Dillon calmly snoozed while the concerned adults outside the car increased in number and anxiety.
“He was fine. The heater was on. But I was going crazy,” said Ms. Snee. “I felt so bad that I couldn't get to him.”
Stymied by the car's newer technology, police called AAA, who in turn called Jacobs Towing in Lebanon. Owner Chris Jacobs sped to the scene and within minutes had the mother and son reunited.
“The mom gave me a $10 tip and thanked me a million times,” said Mr. Jacobs.
Hospitals have had a busy week coping with weather-related problems.
Children's Hospital Medical Center reported an increase in sledding accidents involving schoolchildren.
“We've been getting about a half dozen a day,” said hospital spokesman Jim Feuer. “A couple of minor concussions, fractures and lacerations and a lot of bumps and bruises.”
Patty Holiday, spokeswoman for Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, said area hospitals reported 28 weather-related injuries by late afternoon Friday with no deaths. Most of the injuries were from falls, she said.
Friday's conditions left travelers concerned.
Canadian Larry Coughlin worried about road conditions as he headed north, while truck driver Tony Williams was worried about other drivers.
Mr. Coughlin, 54, of London, Ontario, pulled off Interstate 75 at Ohio 122 in Middletown to knock the ice off the sluggish windshield wipers of his brown Cadillac.
“It's really bad,” he said. “I don't know what kind of weather I'll hit between here and home.”
Mr. Williams, a driver for United Magazine Corp., dropped off a load of magazines at a store in Hyde Park. He said he was worried not only about the roads but also about other drivers on them.
“I'm used to this, but it's the erratic behavior of other drivers. I'm tired of it,” said Mr. Williams.
• People also were irritable about how the storm affected their lifestyles. Many staples, such as eggs and bread, were in short supply — either because enough delivery trucks were not getting through fast enough or because other people stocked up while the storm lasted. Others couldn't get their own sidewalks clear because of a short age of salt.
Walt Thompson, manager of the Home Depot on Beechmont Avenue in Clermont County, knows the pain of going saltless.
“We're totally out. The demand throughout the Midwest has been huge,” said Mr. Thompson.
A truck carrying about 2,000 bags of salt — weighing about 50 pounds each — arrived at 5 p.m. Tuesday and by 7 p.m. had sold out.
“If I had to, I could have sold two truckloads a day, if not more,” he said.
Reporters Steve Kemme, Janet Wetzel and Susan Vela contributed to this story.
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