Monster storm leaves hundreds stranded

Monster storm leaves hundreds stranded
'Why would they have that exit open if they were just going to let us sit there?'

National Guardsmen towed stranded vehicles from highways and crews toiled to clear roads early Friday following a monster storm that has been blamed for at least 15 deaths.

The work continued a day after Guardsmen in Humvees ferried food, fuel and baby supplies to hundreds of motorists stranded on a 50-mile stretch of highway for nearly 24 hours.

A traffic jam on an icy, hilly section of Interstate 78 in eastern Pennsylvania forced authorities to also shut down portions of I-81 and I-80 as they struggled to gain ground on the colossal traffic jam.

Drivers were frustrated they were let on the road at all. State police did not close all the entrance ramps to I-78 until around 5 p.m. Thursday, more than 24 hours after cars and trucks started getting caught.

“Why would they have that exit open if they were just going to let us sit there?” said a crying Deborah Miller. Her 5-year-old son was trapped in the car with her, running a 103-degree fever from strep throat.

State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said Friday morning that the highways would stay closed indefinitely so crews and chemicals could do their work.

“In many areas, we're finding sections of ice covering the highway that measure four to six inches. This simply poses too great a risk to motorists,” Biehler said in a news release. “Additionally, this extra time allows the chemicals we applied overnight to work, as they heat with the rising daytime temperatures.”

The sprawling storm system hit Wednesday and blew out to sea Thursday, leaving huge snow piles, frigid temperatures and tens of thousands without power across the Midwest and Northeast. More than 137,000 customers had lost power at the height of the storm.

Numerous areas saw more than a foot of snow, with 42 inches falling in the southern Adirondacks in New York.

“This storm was rare because of the unusual amount of snow and ice,” Biehler said Thursday. “This series of accidents that blocked our way made it really, really difficult.”

Eugene Coleman, who is hyperglycemic, was trapped for 20 hours while on his way home to Hartford, Conn., from visiting his terminally ill mother in Georgia, along with his girlfriend and pregnant daughter.

“How could you operate a state like this? It's totally disgusting,” Coleman said.