Weather causes many crashes

Jason Gulley/Exponent Photographer SLOW GOIN': Joe Didelot, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts, slowly makes his way through the snow and slush on his bike Monday.

By Kate Johann
Assistant Features Editor

West Lafayette, Lafayette and Indiana State Police investigated 60 automobile crashes and assisted in nearly 70 slide-offs Monday due to poor weather conditions.

Indiana State Police First Sgt. Brent Bible said most of the crashes reported to the State Police were one and two car collisions and a majority of the slide-off crash victims received only minor injuries, if any.

Officer Tim Bonner of the Lafayette Police Department said Lafayette Police have worked on at least 30 of the crashes that were reported. Bonner said the crashes are a result of people driving too fast on snow and ice covered roads.

Senior director for the Purdue Building and Grounds Department, Don Hufford, agreed. He said one of the problems with this winter is that the Greater Lafayette Community has experienced is the lack of snow.

"So, for this big snow, it's like the first snow of the season. People aren't used to it and they don't adjust to it very well. People need to slow down and use good judgement," he said.

Rick Snow, horticulture crew chief for the Purdue Building and Grounds Department, said eight broom operators, two street truck operators, one big dump truck with sanders and scrapers and three Bobcat operators were used to clear snow from streets and sidewalks at 3 a.m. Monday morning.

"This is a little bit different kind of snow since it's so late in the year, with rain mixed in with the snow. When you scrape the snow away, the slush left over forms ice that's harder to remove," he said.

Hufford said the ice underneath the snow has been the most treacherous for drivers.

In fact, drivers can expect more of the same weather conditions today, according to Buzz Bernard, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel. He said Midwesterners can count on "freezing rain changing to sleet changing to snow." To drivers he said, "Expect a slow-go or no-go at times (today)."

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Assistant Features editor: Kate Johann

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