Morning Ice Leads To Accidents, Slip & Falls
Many people are nursing sprained ankles and other bumps and bruises as a result of Thursday morning's freezing rain.
Huron Valley Hospital in Oakland County reported a dozen people coming in for treatments of sprains and bruises. St. John Hospital on Detroit's eastside reported a handful of patients while Mt. Clemens Regional Medical Center had seven people come in to the emergency room for treatment of injuries sustained in falls on the ice.
Police reported dozens of accidents, however there were no serious injuries.
Early Thursday morning, Michigan State Police were reporting "tons of calls" about accidents.
Michigan State Police Sergeant Kim Pegouske, who works at the Taylor Post, says a thin coating of ice covered I-94, I-275 and M-14.
A multi-mile backup was reported on M-14 near Gotfredson. WWJ's Ron Dewey reported five semi trucks and a couple cars were involved. WWJ listeners reported a ten-vehicle accident on I-94 near Rawsonville Road around 6 a.m.
"The largest problem is on the ramps, the trucks can't make it up the ramps, they can't manuever across the ramps so they are pretty much shutting everything down," Pegouske said early Thursday.
Macomb County also had slick conditions. Sheriff Mark Hackel said main roads were wet as of 8:10 a.m., but side streets were slick. Hackel said the department had "alot" of accidents reported earlier Thursday.
The Oakland County Sheriff Department was reporting some accidents mainly in the western portion of the county near Highland Township and Wixom.
Local ambulance crews were getting calls from people who were slipping and falling on sidewalks, in parking lots and off porches.
Overnight rain created a thin layer of ice on area roads and walkways and made travel hazardous.
Here's the WWJ-AccuWeather forecast.
Thursday: Some rain and drizzle freezing on a few surfaces early in the morning, especially bridges and overpasses; otherwise, cloudy and milder. High 40.
Thursday night: Cloudy and breezy with a bit of rain, drizzle and fog. Low 36.
Friday, New Year's Eve: Cloudy breezy and milder with some rain and fog. High 48.
Saturday, New Year's Day: Mild with a couple morning showers are possible; otherwise, mostly cloudy, windy. High 48.
Sunday and Monday: Intervals of clouds and sun and brisk. High 32 both days.
