Winter Nightmare For Stranded Motorists

A biting storm caused a 50-mile backup on an icy, hilly section of Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania and forced the closure of other highways Thursday as police, road crews and the National Guard struggled to gain ground on a colossal traffic jam that left some motorists stranded for more than a day.

PennDOT officials said all motorists had been cleared off the highways by the early hours of Friday, and crews were attacking an icy mixture that coated the pavement and became rock-hard as overnight temperatures dropped into the low teens and single digits and winds gusted to 35 mph.

"Our crews are out there just grinding away," Sean Brown, a PennDOT spokesman, said about 4:30 a.m. "We have plow trucks out there, we have graders out there, we have loaders out there, just hammering away at it."

Brown said PennDOT had no prediction of when the interstates would reopen.

"This storm was rare because of the unusual amount of snow and ice," said state Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler. "This series of accidents that blocked our way made it really, really difficult."

State officials, under mounting criticism, said road crews were unable to keep up with the unusual combination of snow, ice and immovable vehicles that began Valentine's Day. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation set up blockades on parts of I-78 around 8 a.m. Thursday, but the problems persisted, partly because some highway entrances were still open.

"People are just stuck at this point with nowhere to go, truckers have packed the rest areas, they are lined up for miles on the shoulder, they are lined up blocking the exit and entrance ramps. Thousands are just sitting here, waiting for the road to reopen," reports in Harrisburg.

National Guard vehicles loaded with food, water, baby supplies and fuel delivered help to hundreds of stranded motorists. One woman was taken away by ambulance, but no serious injuries were reported.

Motorists were outraged, including many who were still stuck Thursday afternoon.

"How could you operate a state like this? It's totally disgusting," said Eugene Coleman, of Hartford, Conn.

Coleman, who is hyperglycemic, was trapped for 20 hours while on his way home from visiting his terminally ill mother in Georgia, along with his girlfriend and pregnant daughter. They had no food or water for about 18 hours and Coleman said his legs were swollen.

"God forbid somebody gets really stuck on the highway and has a life-threatening emergency. That person would have died," Coleman said.

Asked to comment, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell insisted that "Mother Nature is the only one to blame" and said Rendell is satisfied with his state's response to the storm.

Gov. Rendell declared a statewide disaster emergency, which authorizes state agencies to use all available resources and personnel and which waives some bidding and contract procedures. He also announced that tolls would be waived for 24 hours on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

"We are urging people to avoid Interstate 78 near the Interstate 81 split, and to use extreme caution when traveling," Rendell said. "I have instructed all available equipment and manpower to help Pennsylvanians who are still enduring Mother Nature's wrath."

Thursday afternoon, police and state officials announced they were officially closing Interstate 78, as well as sections of I-81 and I-80, to help keep the area clear.

State police did not close all the entrance ramps to I-78 until around 5 p.m., more than 24 hours after vehicles starting getting caught, said Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright, the head of the Pennsylvania National Guard. She could not give a reason for the delay.

PennDOT estimated that at one point there were hundreds of tractor-trailers stuck. Some trucks were stranded by road conditions, while others ran out of fuel or their fuel froze.

Col. Jeffrey B. Miller, the state police superintendent, said part of the trouble was that not enough drivers had heeded warnings to stay off the roadway.

Deborah Miller, 34, said there were no warnings.

She was headed from Tennessee to her home in Rhode Island on Thursday, drove onto Interstate 78 from another highway and immediately found herself stuck at the rear end of the miles-long jam. With her 5-year-old son running a 103-degree fever from strep throat, she was furious authorities had not placed electronic signs to warn motorists of the jam.

"Why would they have that exit open if they were just going to let us sit there?" she said, crying.

One motorist who spent the night on I-78 told KYW-TV around noon that state police hung up on her when she called for help.

"I am very afraid that when they get to some of these cars what they're going to find, because this is a long time and it's bitter, bitter cold," said a tearful Ann Harold, who was traveling home from the Westminster Dog Show with her two dogs. "The dogs and I are sharing the same water, and I just take a little bit because I'm trying to conserve on the water, but that's all I have."

Police said they took fuel to some motorists and food to others, including several diabetics who called 911.

Most drivers elected to stay with their cars, police said. Authorities also were flooded with calls from frustrated motorists wanting to know why the highway wasn't clear.

The National Guard began helping the motorists at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, an operation that ended once vehicles were cleared from I-78 Thursday evening. More than 130 guardsmen using Humvees and other vehicles helped control traffic, give out food, blankets and baby supplies and rescue motorists, said Lt. Jay Ostrich.

The storm dumped 7 inches of snow on I-78 followed by a 3-inch crust of ice. Motorists said the highway was not in good condition.

"I can't see not clearing the road," said District Judge Gay Elwell, of Easton, who sat in the jam from 1:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. "It seems really basic."

The storm claimed the life of a 72-year-old man near Kutztown, who died Thursday morning trying to put chains on a tractor, police said. Calvin Adam was crushed when the tractor, which was up on jacks, fell on him just before 7 a.m., the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department said.