7 months ago
SOUTH OF FREDERICK, Md (WUSA) -- Trapped in your car in a howling blizzard on a deserted stretch of road.... Scores of terrified drivers and passengers in Frederick County spent a bitter night in snow drifts with rescuers unable to get to them.
And some are still trapped.
Two tractor trailers with drivers inside are still stuck in the snow on US 15/Rt. 340 as I write this. One of the drivers slid off into the median at noon on Wednesday.
The driver's still in it.
There is also trouble on the north side of Frederick. At a National Guard roadblock across US 15 just north of Frederick, Specialist Kelly Lemmons told me, "There's a 40 car pileup. Guys have been stranded since last night. Trying to get them out to somewhere warm."
There was no warm place for now for Maryland State Police Trooper First Class Sean McCarty. He was back on the job after a cold and scary night of his own. "We were in an unmarked Trailblazer and the snow was over our windows. We were stuck there for eight hours.
McCarty's's been shot at, broken up fights, nearly been hit by cars.... but he's never been as worried as the night he spent stuck in the snow. "We had a bottle of water and one Nutrigrain bar, so we rationed."
The worst thing is the sense of helplessness. "State Highway sent a front end loader to get us out two trucks got stuck and it took three hours to get to us." McCarty says in some places, the snow drifts were almost up to the power lines.
Scores of drivers had the same kinds of stories. "Tormenta (tormented)" said one Spanish speaking truck driver who had slid into a snow bank. "3am!" "I stuck here." "Cold? Frio?" "Very cold."
Plows and tow trucks are still struggling to reopen northbound US 15. Even National Guard humvees are getting stuck. "On 180, we were stuck in eight to ten drifts. You could see snow drifts above the roof," said one guardsman. The humvees are tough, "but a snow drift can get anybody."
Written by Bruce Leshan
9News Now & wusa9.com
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