Pocono News Section

Freezing Rain Causes Morning Traffic Mess

Freezing Rain Causes Morning Traffic Mess - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 12:10PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo
Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008 @12:10pm EST
This morning's icy weather is to blame for dozens of crashes all across the region today.

In Schuylkill County a multi-vehicle crash closed part of Route 61 this morning. At least 7 vehicles were involved in the wreck which happened in Bulter Township, near Frackville.

Police say it started around 8:30 this morning when a driver lost control and flipped his car over. A passing driver stopped to help which set off a chain reaction crash sending several people to the hospital to get checked out.

Captain McGurl with the Friendship Volunteer Fire Co. #1 said, "It started this morning as a real light drizzle then it changed over like into a heavier rain and everything kind of froze up with the temperatures that we have."

Route 61 was closed for more than a hour between Pine and 10th Streets after this Schuylkill County crash.

People who live in Lackawanna County also dealt with problems this morning. Rain quickly turned to ice on sidewalks and roadways making hazardous conditions.

Traffic was backed up for about a half hour on Scranton's Central Expressway after a Jeep slid on the slick roadway and rolled over. It was just one of many accidents throughout the city and surrounding communities blamed on a light morning rain that turned to ice when it hit the ground.

John Lynch was one of those stopped by the expressway crash. "Pretty bad. There was three accidents on the road while I've been sitting here. This one here was the worst though," he described.

The situation was especially bad in South Abington Township where there was a string of accidents along Adella Road. At one point 7 cars were involved in a crash caused by the ice.

In another, a car skidded off the roadway and struck a woman who was walking nearby. Police say she was seriously injured. Police Chief Bob Gerrity blamed 'black ice' for all the problems. "Well this came on very unexpectedly and very quickly. Any time that you have any doubts whether or not the rods are slippery you've got to slow down, take you time or better yet, stay off the roads until the road crews can get a chance to take care of them."

By late morning temperatures rose above freezing and the roads and sidewalks were just wet.