If you live anywhere in the Tri-State area, the past few weeks have been a nightmare on the roads. Two weeks ago the icy conditions were so bad they caused wreck after wreck making it extremely dangerous and hard to get around. Anywhere from Philadelphia up to the Palisades Interstate Parkway, hundreds of accidents and some road closings were wreaking havoc on everyone’s day.
There was a 30-car pile up near Englewood on Route 95 in the early morning hours and it was so difficult to get around that the EMT crew even had trouble maneuvering their ambulance to the scene through all the cars stalled and wrecked along the icy roadway. Not far from there, a 20-car wreck on the Parkway also occurred due to all the rain that froze once it hit the pavement and roadways that have withstood temperatures below freezing during the previous night. There were also 15 different emergency calls in Teaneck, 14 of which were weather-related, including many people who had slipped and fallen on ice.
People Helping People
Motorists had to do their best and work together to help each other, as well as those injured and even an elderly heart attack victim get out of their vehicles and into the awaiting ambulances that couldn’t make it close enough to the cars. Luckily, there were no fatalities across the state, but there were over 400 weather-related accidents after midnight, according to state police.
Various means of public transportation was suspended for most of the day and many bridges had to be closed in an effort to keep people off the roads and make it easier for emergency services to reach anyone in need. Many hospital emergency rooms had to double up on staff to treat anyone involved in accidents or accidental falls.
Heed All Warnings
Officials had asked people to stay indoors and not risk heading out due to the unsafe roads and sidewalks, but many people are stubborn and others probably thought they’d be okay to go on about their days as usual. It’s hard enough to get people to drive carefully on good weather days in this state, let alone when it’s so clearly dangerous out there. Perhaps over 400 accidents will make it sink in that whatever you think you may have to get done on a given day, it’s not worth driving in unsafe conditions and risking your life as well as that of many others.
In the coming weeks, as we continue to face harsh temperatures and weather conditions this winter, please take all precautions and drive carefully.
