Snowfall wreaks havoc on tri-county roadways Monday

A truck carrying diesel fuel wrecked on I-75 near the 29-mile marker Monday, spilling the fuel all over the roadway. Crews spent hourse cleaning up the mess. The wreck, coupled with terrible road conditions, caused gridlock on the interstate and all around Corbin.

Injuries were minor but traffic backups and delays were major as a snowstorm moved through southeastern Kentucky Monday evening.

According to John Henson, spokesperson with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet office in Manchester, the timing of the snow, which began accumulating on the roadways about 4 p.m. and the on-and-off nature of the storm created a perfect environment to make the roads slick and driving hazardous.

"We had a combination of brutal cold and bands of snow mixed with periods of sunshine that caused the precipitation to melt and then freeze back into black ice," Dobson explained. "When you looked at the road, you thought you were seeing asphalt when it was really ice."

A series of wrecks brought traffic to a stop on Interstate 75 in both directions. While the wrecks in the northbound lanes around the 18-mile marker were minor, a three-vehicle wreck on the southbound side just north of exit 29 included a tractor-trailer truck hauling diesel fuel.

According to Steve Douglas, spokesperson for Kentucky State Police Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, William B. Smith, 51, of Gate City, Va. Lost control of the truck and hit a Chevy Cavalier driving by Lisa Estep, 49, of Corbin. As a result, Estep’s car slid into Shirley M. Laing’s Ford Thunderbird.

The tank on the trailer was ruptured, spilling about 3,000 gallons of fuel oil onto the roadway.

"It is used as heating oil and to power farm machinery," Douglas explained.

With the interstate backed up, motorist sought alternate routes, primarily U.S. 25W through downtown Corbin.

Corbin Police Major Rob Jones, the department’s public affairs officer, said the amount of traffic and the black ice caused numerous wrecks and left motorists crawling along.

According to records from Corbin 911, Corbin Police responded to two accidents with injuries and 14 non-injury accidents between 4 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Multiple vehicles remained abandoned along the roadways Tuesday morning.

Corbin Public Works Director Gary Kelly said because state highway crews were unable to reach state roads in Corbin including Master Street, Kentucky Ave. and Main Street, Corbin road crews made those roads a priority, but trying to work around the traffic and the wrecks made the job that much more difficult.

Kelly and his crew of six worked continuously to get the roads clear and keep them clear. He estimated it was after midnight before the crews finally had a handle on it.

"Nobody was expecting this," Kelly said. "The forecast was for flurries."