Icy road conditions prove difficult for motorists as multiple car riots in three states paralyzed roads and killed two people.
Multiple pile-ups occurred in New York, New Jersey and Michigan, including two in the Three-State Territory that resulted in the death of two people after being hit by skidding vehicles as they abandoned their wrecked cars.
Anastasia Arthur has been identified as a victim of a crash in New Jersey while the victim remains unknown in New York. Police said they both left their vehicles after losing control of their own and were hit by another vehicle that lost control at the same location, according to ABC 7.
Arthur was killed on Route 3 near the Hackensack River Bridge in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while the New Yorker was killed on the Cross County Parkway connection east to the Bronx River Parkway north.
According to News 12, more than 30 cars were involved in a pile-up on Wednesday during rush hour on Hutchinson River Parkway near Pelhamdale Avenue in New Rochelle, New York.
Multiple pile-ups occurred in New York (pictured), New Jersey and Michigan as the icy road conditions proved difficult for drivers
Several accidents occurred in New Jersey, including on Route 10 (pictured) and Route 3, where Anastasia Arthur was killed after getting out of her crashed vehicle and being hit by another. An unidentified New Yorker was also killed in another accident
Several vehicles sustained physical injuries, but most of the injuries were not life-threatening
Police reported that three ambulances assisting the scene of the accident were also hit after other cars slipped on the ice.
Several highways and exits were closed as Westchester police advised drivers to “avoid driving if possible” because of “insidious” road conditions.
Freezing conditions also delayed flights at Queens LaGuardia Airport. The flights were delayed by at least an hour, according to Sun.
Motorists in Michigan also saw catastrophic road conditions after a semi-trailer truck was buckled, resulting in a pile-up of 40 cars and several injuries on US 131.
More than 30 cars were involved in a pile-up on the Hutchinson River Parkway (pictured) near Pelhamdale Avenue in New Rochelle, New York during Wednesday’s rush hour
Police reported that three ambulances assisting the scene were also hit after other cars slipped on the ice
Road conditions are expected to worsen as more snow is expected to fall on the tri-state area on Friday and Jersey hit up to five inches
Around 12:30 p.m., a semi-trailer truck buckled after trying to avoid an accident after the National Weather Service at Grand Rapids warned drivers to beware of “dangerous driving conditions in parts of West Michigan.”
US 131 was shut down for several hours after “numerous crashes” when rescue workers supported the scene and took care of several injuries. None was life-threatening.
Earlier this week, hundreds of drivers in Virginia were stranded on I-95 at around 8:30 a.m. on Monday for 27 hours when six tractor units buckled in the winter storm and set off a chain reaction, resulting in a day-long pile-up along 50. led one-mile stretch of I-95 south of Washington, DC.
There was 14 inches of snow in the Fredericksburg area as the temperatures dropped to the low teenage temperatures. Several drivers have had to sit in the cool after parking their vehicles or running out of gas while sitting in a traffic collapse.
Some drivers even left their vehicles on the freeway and went to unfamiliar places.
Parts of the motorway were blocked by fallen trees and disabled vehicles. The crews worked tirelessly to clear the streets, but most were stranded for hours.
Outgoing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was convicted of failing to use the National Guard to save the hundreds of motorists who were left with no food or water in freezing conditions by recommending the “unusual weather” to the blind Blamed authorities.
“We must all understand that this was an incredibly unusual occurrence,” Northam said at the conference, noting that the winter storm started as rain on Monday morning, which meant the roads could not be pre-treated the night before.
But Meera and Raghavendra Rao, who were stuck 30 meters past an exit on the interstate for 16 hours, told AP, “In the 16 hours we were stuck, not a police officer (officer) has come.”
“Since we are in the most progressive country in the world, nobody knew how to clear a trail for all of us to get out of this mess?” asked a frustrated Meera.
However, Northam defended his decision not to activate the Virginia National Guard or to declare a state of emergency, citing the difficulty of getting workers and equipment to where they needed to be through snow and ice.
About 40 cars were involved in a giant mile in Michigan (pictured) after a semi-trailer truck buckled on US 131 at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday
Dangerous road conditions resulted in “numerous accidents” on the motorway, which resulted in the road being closed for several hours
None of the injuries were life-threatening
He also claimed that a state of emergency, which would normally be declared hours or days before an event to allow additional flexibility in how to respond, would have done no good.
These crashes happen just as another snowstorm is expected in Nashville after New York in the coming days, leaving 20 million people under winter weather warnings.
New York City, which missed the blizzard earlier this week, is expected to grow two to four inches by Friday.
New Jersey and Long Island could see up to five inches in gusty winds.
There could also be rain showers in the tri-border region on Sunday.
