Icy Rain Causes Several Accidents In Central, Northwestern Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – State troopers in northwest Minnesota down to the St. Cloud area are dealing with dozens of overnight crashes on slippery roadways.
An overnight dose of freezing rain made things treacherous.
State police sergeant Jesse Grabow said a night filled with weather-related crashes happens a lot during the winter, but generally it is snow related.
"Usually, it's from a result of more blowing snow, visibility, that sort of thing," he said. "It's not too often in the month of January that we see freezing rain. This is not a common thing."
There are more than 30 crashes and six jack-knifed 18-wheelers reported in the area from Moorhead to Alexandria, with several cars sliding off roadways into ditches.
In the St. Cloud area, Grabow reported 25 crashes and at least 15 vehicles off the road on both Interstate 94 and secondary roadways.
Grabow said so far there are no reports of major injuries to drivers whose vehicles were involved in the crashes.
"Fortunately, I have not seen anything as far as serious injuries or fatals," Grabow said.
He noted many of the crashes may have been the result of drivers not realizing that the roads had ice on them after several warmer days.
"People are driving too fast for obvious poor conditions, and they definately need to slow it down," he said.
The Douglas County Sherrif's Office said it has lifted the no travel advisory it issued for Saturday morning.
