Snow Makes For Messy Morning Commute After End Of Deep Freeze
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A messy morning caused dozens of crashes and spin-outs on the roads, as snowy and wet conditions made it hard for drivers headed to work Friday.
Light snow overnight led to icy conditions on Chicago area expressways during the morning rush.
On the Dan Ryan Expressway, a car got stuck in a ditch near 87th Street, after sliding off the road. The driver appeared to be okay.
The same scene played out several times during the morning.
Illinois State Police took reports for 19 crashes and 35 cars in ditches since 10 p.m. Thursday.
In northwest Indiana, traffic was backed up for miles on eastbound Interstate 80/94, after a crash involving three semis near Hammond. No one was injured, but lanes were blocked for more than an hour.
Semi drivers said the past two days have been horrible on the roads, with record-breaking cold gripping Chicago.
"My truck froze up on me. It jelled up while it was actually running and idling," Landon Anderson said.
Jim Kunce's truck broke down on Wednesday, and with a major warm-up on the way, he can't wait for the weekend.
"I'm more excited for May 31. I retire," he said.
Some people in the Chicago area took public transportation instead of driving. Andre Williams waited for a CTA bus at the 95th Street terminal above the Dan Ryan, standing on top of a bench to get as close to the overhead heaters as he could.
Even though Chicago had finally emerged from a two-day span of temperatures below zero, Williams said it didn't feel that way.
"It's much colder than yesterday, surprisingly. They said it was supposed to be warmer Friday, but it doesn't really feel like it," he said.
Williams and Mykole Flowers both work at UPS, and both were headed to work before dawn.
"The rest of the day, I'm going to be outside for a little bit, traveling, and then I'm going to be working. I might be outside a little bit then, but after that I got the rest of the day to stay inside and be warm like everybody else," Flowers said.
