Rain and ice bring rash of accidents

STAFF REPORT

A mix of rain and ice made roads slick and caused hundreds of accidents in the area and all over Ohio on Tuesday.

In Trumbull County, the 911 dispatch center reported 220 traffic accidents between 3 and 7:15 p.m.

Trumbull County 911 Supervisor Dale Hahne said there were no fatalities, but some motorists were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. He also cautioned people to stay off the roads if at all possible.

“It’s been nothing really serious ... no major injuries,” he said. “We’re trying to let people know to stay off the road.”

Hahne said road crews, safety forces and Ohio Department of Transportation employees were working through the night to keep the roads clear and as safe as possible.

At one point Tuesday evening, U.S. Route 62 and state Routes 11 and 46 were “almost to the point of closure due to accidents,” he said.

Hahne said the worst areas included state Route 82 from Brookfield to Howland, Route 62 from Sharon to Hubbard, Route 11, state Route 88 from Lake Erie to Farmington, state Route 305 and sections of state Route 534 and state Route 82 in Braceville.

“It’s mostly just the ice. We’ve had this freezing rain that sits on top of ice,” he said. “It’s like a skating rink.”

Dispatchers from Mahoning and Columbiana counties and western Pennsylvania’s Lawrence and Mercer counties said they all experienced similar occurrences Tuesday.

“It was mainly Portage and Trumbull counties that got hit pretty hard,” said Shawn Rogers, dispatcher for the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Canfield post. “Mahoning County had some [accidents], but not as many as they did.”

In other parts of the state, at least four people died in crashes on roads made slick by freezing rain and sleet.

The OSHP said three were killed in central Ohio’s Licking County on Tuesday morning in two separate accidents that a dispatcher said were related to icy road conditions.

Troopers at the Granville post said a woman died when she lost control of her car and slid into the path of a delivery truck. The driver and a passenger in another car were killed after it skidded into an oncoming utility truck.

Hamilton County authorities said a man died along Interstate 74 west of Cincinnati while standing outside his vehicle after hitting a guardrail. He was struck by an out-of-control sport-utility vehicle before it flipped over. That driver of the SUV refused treatment.