Updated: (10:23 a.m.) — At least one person died in a crash in Gambrills Thursday morning, and police and fire officials responded to dozens of accidents all over the county due to icy roads.
Anne Arundel County police responded at about 7:45 a.m. to the fatal crash near Waugh Chapel Drive and Silver Way in Gambrills. Preliminary information from police indicates that a cement truck collided with a car. There was no initial information on the identity of the victim or the condition of any other passengers. Roads in the area were closed and motorists were being urged to avoid traffic.
One Anne Arundel County police officer was also hurt in a three-car accident on Annapolis Road in Odenton. Police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said that crash also happened at about 7:45 a.m., and involved a police car struck by two other vehicles. The officer was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Anne Arundel County police reported 60 accidents between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Thursday morning, creating delays on nearly every major roadway including Interstate 97, Route 50 and Route 100.
In the areas of Odenton and Crofton, there were other accidents reported on Route 175 and Route 3, as well as a crash involving an SUV on Dairy Farm Road.
Route 175 (Annapolis Road) was closed following an accident involving a police car, witnesses reported.
Further north, there were accidents reported near Route 100 and I-97, forcing the closure of Route 100 eastbound. Police also responded to an accident on Quarterfield Road near the ramp to I-97 north.
Icy conditions were especially prevalent on overpasses and bridges, police said.
Police also reported accidents and delays on Route 2 and Route 10.
I agree with the above posters about the lack of salt and the failure to postpone school openings. The overnight sleet and snow must have cooled roadways below freezing, so that even rising temperatures (it was 33 degrees at 8am at BWI) did not melt the black ice ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_ice ) that had formed.
Turn on the weather channel or local news before you leave the house. Stop expecting the government to do everything.
This wasn't a lack of common sense issue. It was a lack of awareness that conditions were not what they seemed.
Is it precipitating? IS IT COLD?? Then there could be ice!! Come on, this isn't rocket science.
I agree that people need to take responsibility for safe driving. However, it's also the government's responsibility to ensure that roadways are safe to use. If this were a less populated area, a patch of ice would rarely result in a fatal accident. In this area, the traffic density is such that any mistake is likely to evolve into a multiple-vehicle accident. Thus, the government fails on two counts: one for failing to adequately salt the roads, and the second for failing to adequately expand the capacity of the road network in this area to handle the traffic volume.