Snowstorm Strands Capital Drivers Overnight

The east coast got its dose of the winter storms that pulverized the west coast and midwest during the holidays. Emergency crews spent hours freeing the last of hundreds of snowstorm-stranded drivers on I-95 just outside of the capital on Tuesday. The stranded motorists spent a blistering 24 hours wrapped up in their cars as a snowstorm trapped drivers on a halted highway. 

A sleepless night

At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Virginia state officials said they worked to clear several hundred vehicles from I-95. Fewer than 20 vehicles remained on the interstate by 5 p.m. Crews checked all cars to ensure drivers abandoned any left on the highway. A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation said she expects the interstate will reopen late Tuesday night.

“We were prepared for the storm that was predicted — a few inches of snow — but instead, Mother Nature sent more than a foot of snow to the Fredericksburg area,” Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said.

Snowstorm stranded Senator

The snowstorm acted unbiased as it stranded all sorts of drivers, from students, families, truckers, and commuters. One such commuter was junior U.S. Senator and former Democratic Vice President nominee Tim Kaine from Virginia. He got stuck at approximately 1 p.m. during his usual two-hour commute to the Capitol. 

“I’m extremely tired,” Mr. Kaine said in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon as he arrived in Washington, having spent more than 20 hours stuck in his vehicle. “I had to sleep in my car last night on an ice-packed interstate with a ton of other cars.” He went on to say that he rationed his gas by letting it run for a half-hour at a time to charge his phone, warm-up, and make calls. He slept for twenty minutes at a time and listened to the radio to pass the time. 

Monday’s storm led to the deaths of a reported five people. In Maryland, three people died in a collision with a snowplow, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. Local news outlets in both Tennessee and Georgia reported children dying from falling trees.