By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON, Ind. — Freezing rain, drifting snow and bracing wind combined to make travel perilous Monday, and conditions only worsened as night fell and temperatures dropped.
Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson said deputies responded to at least 26 wrecks between 3:45 p.m. Sunday and about 7:30 p.m. Monday, five of which involved personal injury.
Monday afternoon, medics responded to a report of a man who suffered a heart attack while shoveling snow in the 500 block of North Swain Street in Ingalls. Monday evening, Fire Chief Dan Robnolte said he could not provide any details about the man or his condition.
A mother and child were transported from Community Hospital to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Monday after they were injured in a crash in which hazardous driving conditions were a factor.
Andrea Weston, 44, of Anderson, and her son Noah, 10, were in stable condition Monday night, a Methodist official said.
The Westons were passengers in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck driven by Gregory Weston, 47, of Anderson. Weston was westbound on County Road 500 North near CR 100 East when he attempted to pass a vehicle shortly after noon, Richardson said. The truck’s tire went off the side of the road and Weston lost control of the truck, which left the road and hit a tree.
Most of the more than two dozen crashes from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening involved people sliding off snow- and ice-covered rural roads, Richardson said. Several involved rollovers, he said, though there were no other reports of serious injuries as of Monday night.
Late Monday, emergency workers temporarily closed a section of Indiana 37 between county roads 1400 North and 1500 North as American Electric Power crews worked to replace a fallen pole and downed power lines. Emergency responders on police radio described the road as “a sheet of ice.”
“Roads are extremely treacherous all the way around,” an emergency responder said Monday night. There was no immediate report of how many people might have been without power due to the fallen pole in the area north of Elwood.
Indiana 9 near Summitville and other roads in the northern part of the county were becoming close to impassable in places, sometimes with little warning. Richardson said a woman driving a Ford Explorer on Indiana 9 struck a snowdrift at County Road 1750 North and left the roadway, where her vehicle flipped before coming to a stop on Monday afternoon.
Richardson said the state highway north of Alexandria was drifting heavily over the southbound lane in some areas.
“North-south roads out in the county are also drifting,” Richardson said.
“I’m thankful schools are out and they are on break right now,” he said.
The Indiana Department of Transportation on Monday night reported difficult driving conditions with blowing snow on Indiana 32 east of Anderson, Indiana 38 east of Pendleton, Indiana 109 south of Anderson, Indiana 236 between Anderson and Middletown and U.S. 36 east of Pendleton.
Richardson said the coming days could be a repeat for emergency responders. No thaw is in sight for coming days. “When we have these types of conditions, drivers need to allow themselves more time to travel,” he said.
Anderson police said main roads in and around the city were mostly clear on Monday, but secondary streets are expected to be slick and snow-covered for days to come. Anderson Police Department officials said there had been few reports of weather-related problems on city streets Monday.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
Going somewhere?
Get up-to-date reports on Indiana highways through the Indiana Department of Transportation. An interactive map of road conditions is available at http://indot.carsprogram.org/main.jsf. Reports also can be obtained by phone at (800) 261-ROAD.
