Snow-related accidents keep local officers busy
By John Joyce
Published in News on February 25, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/ETHAN SMITH
The driver of this Kia Optima collided with a North Carolina Department of Transportation snow plow truck Tuesday afternoon, resulting in significant injuries to the driver of the Kia.
A N.C. Department of Transportation snow plow and a passenger car collided on a Wayne County road Tuesday, sending the driver of the car to Wayne Memorial Hospital with what first responders called "significant injuries."
Early snow and late ice ravaged city and county roads, sending cars into ditches and over embankments and leaving local law enforcement to clean up the mess.
The exact number of wrecks is impossible to tally. Many vehicles were simply left on the side of the road.
The Goldsboro Police Department responded to 50 accidents and filed reports on 29 of them, Capt. Dwayne Dean said in an email.
"Twenty-two of the 29 reported were weather-related," he said.
Seven injured people were transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital throughout the weather event.
Alcohol, too, might have had a role to play in at least some of the crashes, police said, including the one involving the snow plow.
The driver of the car is expected to be charged with DWI.
The accident took place on Old Grantham Road just south of Providence Church Road just after 2 p.m.
Both the Mar-Mac and the Thoroughfare Volunteer Fire Departments responded, along with Wayne County EMS, the Wayne County Office of Emergency Services, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
N.C. DOT public information officer Jennifer Heiss confirmed a DOT plow was involved in a wreck in Wayne County Tuesday.
"I can confirm there is extensive damage to our vehicle, and our driver was not injured," she said.
She said she was prohibited from commenting any further.
Several vehicles were pulled from ditches by area wreckers, including a minivan off South John Street in front of the SouthCo building, and another car that went over a steep embankment off U.S. 117 South just before Canal Street.
A truck passing by noticed the car down the hill with its dome light on and called it in to police. He said he could see someone still inside the vehicle.
Sgt. Doug Bethea and two other Goldsboro police cars arrived on scene and searched for the vehicle until they found it. Bethea said the driver was not injured and was waiting on a wrecker to come pull the car out. The car was 20 to 30 feet down the embankment, barley visible from the highway.
The Goldsboro Police Department asks that all abandoned vehicles be moved out of the road as soon as it is safe to do so.
"There is more wintry weather forecasted for the evening/overnight," Dean said.
He asked those folks who do not need to go out tonight to stay home and off the roads.
"For those that do have to get out, we urge those drivers to leave earlier then they normally would and to use common sense while driving," he added.
Reducing speeds and allowing greater distances between other vehicles can reduce the risk of impact.
"If you do wind up in the unfortunate situation of sliding off the road and into the ditch, we recommend that you call dispatch and stay in your vehicle until the police officer arrives."