Late Evening Precipitation Makes Driving Treacherous

By: 10/11 News Team Email

Updated: Fri 6:54 AM, Feb 15, 2013

Car in Pond at Lancaster Event Center - Icy roads to blame

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Icy road conditions were the cause of several accidents
Lancaster County Sheriff's Office: 4 accidents reported
Lincoln Police: 3 accidents reported
Nebraska State Patrol: 40 accidents or spin outs reported
No serious injuries reported

Several accidents were related to icy conditions after late evening snow.

The snow flurries began falling around 8 p.m. Thursday. Lincoln Weather Service reports the temperature fell five degrees, to 28 degrees at 9 p.m.

That drop in temperature quickly formed ice in the Lincoln area, particularly to the east.

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office reported four accidents after 9 p.m. All four were minor damage and no injuries were reported. One accident happened in northwest Lancaster County along Hwy 79. The other three accidents were along the Interstate 80. One crash happened at Hwy 77 and two happened in Waverly.

Lincoln Police had a total of three accidents between 9 p.m. and midnight and no injuries were reported.

According to Nebraska State Patrol Sergeant Joel Bergman, there were over 40 accidents or spin outs between 9:30 p.m. Thursday and 12:30 a.m. Friday. The area affected was east of North 27th Street to almost the Platte River bridge.

Bergman said there were no injuries in any of these incidents. Damages were minor for the few accidents. Most of the incidents were vehicles spinning out or ending up stuck, alongside the road or in the median.

According to Bergman, conditions were so bad they imposed a ban on tow trucks. "We just can't have extra trucks parked alongside the road when there are cars passing by on an icy road."

Fire and rescue crews were called out to two crashes where the cars involved were reported to have rolled over. According to Bergman, troopers were able to get to both scenes first and make sure there were no injuries in either crash.

As of Friday morning, there were still several vehicles in the median and the ditch in that area on Interstate 80. They should be removed during daylight hours.

Just after 11 p.m. Thursday, one vehicle ended up in the pond at the Lancaster County Event Center.

According to the father of the 17-year-old driver, the car was going south on 84th when it slid out of control, crossing over the center median then into the pond.

"Other than his pride, he isn't hurt," said the driver's father.

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