Dayton Daily News
DAYTON, Ohio — Salt trucks have been recalled to the roads to help thaw roads that began to refreeze as temperatures fell back into the mid-20s Wednesday evening, Dec. 17.
Ice was blamed for a onecar accident just before 6:30 p.m. on Austin Pike just east of Ohio 741 in Miami Twp.
The car slid off the road and landed on its top in a ditch on Austin Pike, according to police. All passengers in the car were out and safe, according to police.
Crews blocked off Austin Pike until salt trucks could treat the pavement.
There was little precipitation on Wednesday and temperatures climbed into the low 40s at about 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Since then, temperatures have dropped below freezing causing roadways to become treacherous, as was also the case early Wednesday morning. Local emergency rooms faced a steady stream of injuries stemming from icy sidewalks and crummy roads earlier in the day.
At Miami Valley Hospital, the ER was jammed with complaints ranging from scrapes to sprains to broken bones, said Nancy Thickel, a hospital spokeswoman. One worker even joked that employees weren’t immune to issues as several had slipped around their homes before coming to work, Thickel said.
Patient volume was the greatest in the morning, beginning around 7 a.m., but had tapered by 11 a.m., Thickel said. Some patients arrived under their own power, and some were transported by ambulances from both slips and auto accidents, she said.
Many of the injuries at four hospitals in the Kettering Health Network were minor scrapes and bruises with some wrist issues from auto accidents, said Kevin Lavoie, a network spokesperson.
Sgt. Chris Colbert of the Dayton post of the Ohio Highway Patrol credited local road crews with getting streets clear in time for the morning rush hour.
“The salt and everything is pretty effective when temperatures are just below freezing like they are today,” Colbert said. “Only some of the side streets still seem to be icy.”
Colbert said the Dayton post handled 35 accidents between 4 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, when roads were covered with fresh ice that road crews hadn’t had a chance to address. He said Wednesday morning would have been as bad as Tuesday morning if roads were still icy.
“I don’t think 12 hours is enough for some drivers to turn their bad habits around,” he said.
Clark County emergency responders reported more than 100 minor crashes from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning.