Over 100 Wrecks Reported in 20 Hours

As temperatures dropped and roads slicked over with a sheet of ice, emergency personnel began a non-stop night of tending to crash and stranded motorists calls that continues this evening.

Between 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening and 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, dispatch received 101 reports of motor vehicle crashes and an additional 31 calls to assist motorists who had slid off roadways or disabled their vehicles in the icy conditions.

The crashes were so frequent that Charlie shift officers were still radioing in at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning to attend crash scenes. The shift normally ends at 7 a.m.

Throughout the night and afternoon, crash after crash and rollover after rollover hit San Angelo, some stalling traffic while others ran off in the bar ditches on the sides of highways leading in and out of the city.

Emergency responders are urging motorists to avoid driving if at all possible, noting some 20 accidents reported on the loop alone within a few hours Tuesday evening.

Nixle Alerts have been issued in the past 20 hours for the 500 and 600 blocks of Glenna St., the loop and FM 2288 due solely to the conditions, while several other streets have had similar alerts due to motor vehicle accidents.

TxDOT worked through the night Tuesday sanding the loop, however it is still highly advised that motorists avoid driving, particularly on the loop until the ice has cleared.

The TxDPS further advises caution and discourages driving on roads and highways between towns, where traffic has slowed to a crawl and the accident toll is rising.

From the TxDPS Abilene office:

Interstate 20 is at a crawl. The worst area now is Westbound IH-20, West of Tye. The ice build up will continue to slow and possibly stop the traffic flow putting those traveling in a very serious danger of getting stuck out in these very cold temperatures. The weather outlook is poor from now into Friday

For more information on the weather and what’s expected through the evening, check out Matt’s weather report here.