NEXT Drive: More crashes, spinouts as snow continues to fall Wednesday
MONTICELLO, Minn. -- With light snow continuing Wednesday, road conditions remain slick in Minnesota.
The Minnesota State Patrol says that between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday, there were 61 crashes across the state. Six of those crashes involved injuries and there were 54 vehicle spinouts and one jackknifed semi. Additionally, the state patrol says there were over 1,300 crashes since Friday.
Multiple accidents have been observed on MnDOT traffic cameras, including a semi that slid into a ditch on Interstate 94 near Monticello.
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The incident has caused major traffic backups, almost half way to Albertville. As of 7:18 a.m., crews were working to remove the semi from the ditch.
Other incidents include:
- I-35E at I-494 also in Mendota Heights area
- Interstate 35E at Wagon Wheel Trail in Mendota Heights area
The state patrol says two people were seriously injured in Mendota Heights.
At Matt's Automotive Service Center, Matt Lachowitzer says he suspects worn tires to have played a role in the week's crashes.
"The tire has lost its grip and traction on the road – so stopping ability, ice and rain ability, snow ability, that's all dramatically decreasing by that tire wearing down," said Lachowitzer, who founded the company.
Lachowitzer says he suspects many drivers have put off putting on new tires. Supply chain issues and inflated prices have lead many to wait, he said.
"Tires have gone up immensely in price over the last 12 months especially," he said. "They started during COVID – we had a shortage, and then the prices have gone up because of supply chain issues. So people that would have normally put tires on in the summer when they needed them, probably didn't do that. They probably kind of waited until the first snow. Now they're having troubles getting around – I think that's contributing to some of the accidents."
Lachowitzer says in the past week, his 10 store locations have sold 1,200 tires – an increase of 35% from the first storms of 2021.
Temperatures in the Twin Cities will start in the low 30s on Wednesday, then fall throughout the day. The high on Thursday will be in the mid-20s.
