Much of Ohio, Pa. snowed in for 2nd day

In Barberton a snowplow driver accidentally buried a boy under 4 feet of snow.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania, snow and ice closed most schools for a second day and many workers heeded warnings to stay off treacherous roads.
Winds reaching 38 mph created huge drifts, which made clearing snow difficult, particularly in Northeast Ohio, which recorded some of that state's highest snowfalls in the storm blamed for one death.
"There was, like, snow as tall as the car on either side, and it was like driving in tunnels," said Courtney Bruner, a nurse at the Cleveland Clinic who had just finished a 16-hour shift Wednesday morning.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol handled more than 1,200 accidents but there were few injuries, patrol Sgt. Brett Gockstetter said.
"Obviously, the speed on the roads is significantly lower. Most of these crashes are people going over the median or off the roads," Gockstetter said.
Factories and other big employers either shut down or sent workers home before the storm struck on Tuesday and most stayed closed Wednesday.
In the Akron area, a snowplow driver on Wednesday accidentally buried a boy in snow. Dylan Stavarz, 13, was playing, digging in snow, near his Barberton home when the mishap occurred.
Police and firefighters took about five minutes to dig the boy out of a pile about 4 feet high, and he was taken to Akron Children's Hospital. Police were told the boy was well and there was no need to admit him.
In Cleveland, where 15 inches of snow fell, a snow-laden canopy over gasoline pumps at a service station collapsed on several vehicles. One injured person was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center.
Heavy snow was evidently to blame for at least two partial roof collapses in northeastern Pennsylvania, at a U.S. Army Reserve storage facility in Scranton and a library outside Wilkes-Barre. No one was hurt at either site.
Thousands of state workers stayed home, scores of municipalities declared snow emergencies and airlines canceled half the flights at Philadelphia International Airport. There were innumerable traffic accidents -- even a refrigerator in the middle of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia -- but no immediate reports of fatalities.
Sheriff's offices in some Ohio counties warned people they could be arrested for driving, and many businesses were closed, including some florists and gift shops that had been counting on a busy Valentine's Day. Other merchants who rely on a big Valentine's Day made the best of it, saying that though business had slowed, last-minute holiday shoppers were still buying -- especially over the phone.
Road crews could not keep up with snow that added to 15 inches on the ground in the Cleveland and Akron areas of Northeast Ohio, and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson urged residents to stay off the roads.
Akron was one of many cities that told its nonessential workers to stay home. Those who came in worked to repair 35 water main breaks.
State employees under Gov. Ed Rendell's jurisdiction in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton were told not to report to work, while those in Reading and Philadelphia were allowed to come in two hours late. Highway workers, state troopers and other essential employees were required to work. PennDOT had more than 5,000 workers in 2,200 trucks plowing 40,000 miles of road.
Thousands of the state's approximately 5,700 schools were closed, including all of Philadelphia's.
The snow tapered off as expected Wednesday afternoon and the sun came out briefly, seeming to signal an official end to the winter onslaught. Temperatures were expected to edge up slightly by Friday.
The effects of the storm lingered though as more than 70,000 customers were without power statewide Wednesday, mostly in the southern part of Ohio because of ice snapping power lines.
Despite the sleet and freezing rain in Pennsylvania, power companies reported few outages there.
Despite plunging temperatures in recent weeks, much of Pennsylvania had eluded heavier snowfalls this winter, except for the Erie area's persistent lake-effect squalls and isolated storms in other parts of northern Pennsylvania.
Eight people in two homes were overcome by fumes from gasoline generators in southwest Ohio's Clermont County, where tens of thousands of people were without power. They were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
The storm was blamed for the death Tuesday of a 9-year-old girl struck by a falling tree limb in southwest Ohio. Natalie Fossier was walking her dog in her front yard in Clermont County's Miami Township when the ice-coated evergreen branch snapped and fell, authorities said.