ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
State police knew there might be trouble when the snow started falling in Botetourt County about 9 p.m. Monday.
The cold temperatures and wet conditions combined to coat area roads with black ice, including patches on Interstate 81.
But before the dispatched transportation crews could clean things up, seven cars slid off northbound I-81 near the Plantation Road exit in Roanoke County.
Trooper B.E. Beach said five cars ended up in the grass on either side of the road after 9:30. Two vehicles were involved in a rear-end collision.
The first vehicle to hit the icy stretch, a minivan, briefly lost control, but the driver slowed down to about 20 mph and continued up the road.
A car approached from behind at about 50 mph, and its driver, unaware of the icy conditions, slammed on his brakes. The car smacked into the van and pushed it about one-fourth mile up the road.
Beach said three people were taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital and treated for minor injuries.
He said highway crews were treating roads in the Roanoke and New River valleys.
The sudden freezing of road surfaces caused eight accidents in Roanoke County between 10 p.m. and midnight.
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg reported the heaviest snow had come down by midnight, but ice could remain on the roads because temperatures were expected to remain below freezing through the night.
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB