Icy sidewalks in Chicago cause falls and injuries, send people to hospitals

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Freezing rain late Wednesday turned Chicago sidewalks and secondary roads into a sheet of ice—and have left some Chicago residents with long-lasting problems.

The ice melted by the midday hours as the temperature crept above freezing. But beginning Wednesday night and going through Thursday morning, some people struggled to stay upright — while others did not fare so well.

Andreas Ralston of Wicker Park ran into some trouble while walking his dog.

"Just now, I was holding onto the fence the entire way, because maybe 90% of the sidewalks weren't salted," Ralston said.

Many people struggled to stay standing, salting their own stairs, and hoping ice and gravity would not take them down. Ralston heard some possible spills while walking his dog Wednesday night.

"When I took her out last night, I definitely heard people that were like yelling and hollering, like they were also slipping in the ice, kind of bit further down Damen," Ralston said.

Chicago residents made 283 requests to 311 for ice and snow removal across the city this morning.

Of the city's 77 community areas, West Elsdon on the Southwest Side had the most calls with 20, followed by Austin on the West Side with 16, and Greater Grand Crossing on the South Side with 14.

Washington Heights on the South Side; the Lower West Side community area, which includes Pilsen; Auburn Gresham on the South Side; and the West Town community area, which includes Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, River West, and West Town itself, all had 10 calls.

Area hospitals saw more admissions too. Edward Jedlinski was among those admissions.

"I had to stay there for a little bit," he said. "I saw stars, so I knew it was bad.

Jedlinski was scheduled for an overnight stay and surgery after a fall while salting sidewalks in the largely industrial suburb of McCook left him with a compound fracture.

"It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing," said Jedlinski. "Just  a freak accident."

There were so many ice-related injuries that every patient room at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth in La Grange was full. The hospital had 43 patients around 10 a.m., nearly half of whom were admitted as ice-related falls.

Some suffered sprains and dislocations after falling on the ice, but other people were staying overnight for surgery on Friday.

Dr. Geoff Crabb, medical director at AdventHealth, said he came in specially to help with the extremely high volume in the waiting room on Thursday.

Crabb said he was surprised by "just the volume, and how we're going to get through it and take care of everyone."

Northwestern Memorial Hospital reported it had seen 25 to 30 patients for ice-related injuries. Rush University Medical Center saw 25 such patients — about 30% total. Franciscan Health Crown Point in Indiana reported 35% its patients were admitted for ice-related injuries.

AdventHealth had the highest percentages — with ice-related injuries making up anywhere from 40% to 56% of ER intakes in the morning.

"We do expect it, and we prepare for it," said Dr. Geoff Crabb, medical director at AdventHealth. "However, when the surge comes in, we get all forces on deck."

Jedlinski was not surprised by the volume of patients at AdventHealth.

"Well, it is dangerous," he said. "The streets aren't bad, but the sidewalks are."

Jedlinski said he doesn't know how long he will be off work now because of his injury — a split-second fall from which it will take time for him to recover.