20-plus people hurt in crashes during Minnesota's late December snowstorm
MINNEAPOLIS — A NEXT Drive Alert is in place on Thursday amid the biggest snowstorm yet this season, which is making for some treacherous road conditions in the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota.
The Minnesota State Patrol says between midnight and 12:30 p.m., there were 254 crashes with 22 resulting in injuries; 110 vehicles went off state roadways; 17 jackknifed semis and a dozen spinouts were reported.
If you can work from home, this would be the day to stay put. If you do find yourself in an accident, stay inside your vehicle until first responders arrive. It's also advised to have a winter emergency kit in your vehicle.
Plows are out in full force, so give them room as they clear the roads.
Meanwhile, Metro Transit reported that, as of 1 p.m., about 38% of bus routes were experiencing delays, with an average delay of close to a quarter-hour.
"There are currently no weather-related Northstar or light rail delays, and no routes on snow reroute," the organization shared Thursday morning.
Latest road conditions in Twin Cities
Two ground stops were issued at MSP Airport on Thursday morning, with nearly 200 flights delayed so far. Several spinouts were also reported on nearby Highway 62 throughout the morning.
Icy cloverleaves and on-ramps have been causing vehicles to stall across the metro, including a big rig that closed down to the ramp from Highway 100 at eastbound Interstate 494 in Bloomington.
A school bus slid off Highway 100 near Interstate 694 in Brooklyn Center, where it remained for hours before a tow truck's rescue. Brooklyn Center police say children were on board at the time and were safely moved to another bus. No one was hurt.
Soon after the snow started to fall in the metro overnight, a driver lost control of their car and crashed into a Minneapolis laundromat. A WCCO photojournalist was at the scene off Broadway Street Northeast. It's unclear if anyone was hurt.
Dozens of Minnesota school districts are reporting closures and delays.
How the Minnesota State Patrol handles severe weather days
The Minnesota State Patrol is responding to hundreds of crashes and spinouts during Thursday's snow.
Organizing the response is a Roseville dispatch center that fields all the emergency calls.
"My biggest concern is do we have adequate staffing to manage the undoubtedly increased call volume that we're going to be receiving throughout the day," said Tim Boyer with the state patrol.
Some notable incidents include a school bus that slid off Highway 100 in Brooklyn Center. No one was hurt.
A semi had to be towed out of a ditch off I-694 in Oakdale.
The Patrol shared a picture of another jackknifed semi on I-35 south of Owatonna.
"It takes a great deal of patience [to be a dispatcher], empathy, certainly the ability to multitask," Boyer said. "You've got a lot of things coming at you at one time. You need to be able to determine what takes priority, what does not."
The Roseville facility directs trooper response all across the metro and as far as Duluth and Brainerd.
A second dispatch center in Rochester handles southern and western Minnesota.
Anyone can access MnDOT's 511 map that gives up-to-the-minute road conditions, closures and where crashes are happening.
But the tech can only help first responders so much.
"We rely heavily on the driver and the citizen out there seeing things happening," Boyer said. "That individual making that call to us requesting assistance, whether they see something or whether they're involved in something, we encourage you to call 911 and talk to us."
The state patrol says if you do have an incident on the roads, stay in your vehicle if possible and call 911.
This is a developing story. Stay with WCCO.com for more.
