Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Snow, ice imperil drivers
Light snow expected today
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sarah Chasnoff (top left), joins her sons (from left) Sam, 8, and Jack, 9, and their friend, Spencer Johnson, 11, all of East Walnut Hills, for a makeshift hockey game on Mirror Lake in Eden Park Monday.
(Gary Landers photo)
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Slippery and wet roads triggered dozens of accidents Monday as crews in salt trucks descended upon streets covered with ice and snow.
“We've had numerous accidents. The roads just got very treacherous very quickly,” said Linda Roll, a supervisor at Greater Cincinnati's ARTIMIS traffic management center.
Most of the accidents were motorists who spun out of control and multivehicle wrecks that started when cars plowed into others, Ms. Roll said.
“We're seeing more accidents,” said Sgt. Rick Blyberg of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Hamilton post. “I attribute it to the weather and drivers not using enough caution.”
“We got 'em lined up. They're just basically all over,” said Sgt. Dean Doerman of the Clermont County Sheriff's Office.
Motorists can expect some slick spots today from snow showers, but there will be no major accumulation, forecasters said. Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to warm up over the next several days. Today's high will be in the low 30s, climbing to the mid-40s Wednesday and into the 50s on Thursday, said Jon Kopec, a forecaster for AccuWeather Inc.
In Hamilton County, all 60 salt trucks saw action on the main and secondary roads, said Larry Beck, maintenance superintendent for the Hamilton County Engineer's Office.
“There are some slick spots — just people sliding off the edge into the ditches,” said Ken Schultz, director of transportation of the Campbell County Road Department. Campbell County's entire fleet — 10 trucks — was busy.
Messy roads resulted in more business for Anderson Hills Towing in Anderson Township. By Monday evening, drivers had responded to more than 60 calls — about 15 more than usual. Many of the calls were for drivers stuck in their driveways and motorists who spun off the roads, said dispatcher/driver Ken Haynes.
Most of the 1,300 calls to AAA Cincinnati by Monday evening were weather-related. By comparison, AAA received 858 calls Sunday. At one point Monday, AAA handled 40 calls from motorists at thesame time, said spokeswoman Jennifer Ledonne.
Sgt. Blyberg offered this advice to motorists: “Just allow more time when they need to get to their destination, keep their speed down and keep their distance, and they should be OK.”
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