By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Darlene Saner enjoys a sunny afternoon walk along Mehring Way on Thursday. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

By midday Thursday, the sun was shining brightly in the Tristate. But freezing fog early in the day caused treacherous "black ice" that was blamed in two fatal car wrecks.

Two men died in separate crashes, and numerous school districts called off classes or pushed back the day's start because the risky mix of heavy fog and freezing temperatures left roads slick with thin, barely visible layers of ice.

Police reported that Gary Brown, 54, of Hamilton was pronounced dead at 6:30 a.m. after a one-vehicle crash on Ohio 128 near Ross. Deputies found him earlier, when the sun still hadn't burned away all icy patches. He apparently lost control of his truck and was ejected, Butler County Sheriff's deputies said. According to the Butler County Coroner's Office, he died of internal injuries. John M. Hirschauer, 22, of Cincinnati died after his pickup truck was hit by a second pickup on foggy Interstate 275 in Anderson Township, Hamilton County sheriff's deputies said. According to police, a 2002 Ford F150, operated by Ronald L. Berry, 52, of New Richmond, was entering southbound 1-275 from U.S. 52 when Berry lost control of the truck and hit Hirschauer's truck, forcing it over a retaining wall.

The driver of this pickup was killed Thursday morning near southbound I-275 at Four Mile Road in Anderson Township. Hamilton Sheriff's Cpl. Dave Esswein, of the traffic safety unit, surveys the wreckage. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

The freezing fog was the latest weather phenomenon to visit Greater Cincinnati this winter. It arrived a week after "snow rollers" - cylindrical masses of snow that resemble tiny bales of hay - graced local yards and fields.

Both weather phenomena are more common to mountainous regions such as the Rockies and Adirondacks than Cincinnati, according to meteorologists.

"The mist just froze. There are times when something like that will happen. People wake up the next day and you're driving on a skating rink," said John Franks, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington. "It's termed black ice because you don't see it. You can't tell whether it's just a little bit wet or just frozen."

The black ice that left drivers sliding across roads was the end result of weather conditions that began on a clear Wednesday night. According to Franks, fog began to form over the region early Thursday, around the same time that temperatures dipped below freezing. Water droplets in the air froze on everything exposed, Franks said.

The danger is that drivers may be unaware of the hazardous driving conditions.

"The fog drippings froze to the road surfaces, creating roads with beautiful black ice. The trees were beautiful, but I could do with a little less of the beautiful at this time," said Paul Varney, superintendent of Batavia Local Schools.

He canceled school for the sixth time this year rather than have Batavia buses travel the icy roads.

Cheryl Gabe, spokeswoman for the Northwest Local School District, tried to remain calm as she drove in to work from Mason. But the commute that usually takes 40 minutes required an hour because of poor visibility.

Gabe is a little tired of winter weather.

"I'm looking forward to spring, (but) I hope we bypass tornadoes," said Gabe, whose yard recently was blanketed with snow rollers.

Mike Amos, operations director for Oak Hills schools, received a 4 a.m. phone call that made him aware of the perilous roads. He decided to issue a two-hour delay for the district's 8,100 students.

"It looked like wet pavement, but it was ice," he said. "It's just not fun to deal with. Think spring. That's what we need to do."

Today, meteorologists said, there's a 50 percent chance of rain for the region. Temperatures will stretch toward the mid-40s.

Janice Morse and David Eck contributed to this story.

E-mail svela@enquirer.com