The Thrill Show and Destruction Derby on San Angelo's Icy Streets

Ice hit San Angelo last night, black ice, and it turned the city into a Thrill Show and Destruction Derby that kept the San Angelo Police and Fire Departments busy throughout the evening. Temperatures where hovering right at freezing for most of the evening while a light drizzle fell.

The evening started with an accident at the intersection of College Hills and Oxford at approximately 8 p.m.  There, a late model Chevrolet Suburban was allegedly attempting to make it through an intersection, as the light was just turning red northbound on Oxford. A post office mail carrier in uniform was headed home eastbound on College Hills and didn’t see the Suburban cruise through the intersection. The postal worker’s ’03 Pontiac Grand Am was destroyed. The Suburban appeared to have minor damage. It was dark, but the drizzle had not yet begun. Here are more pictures.

Later last evening, at around 10:30 p.m. the combination of light drizzle and 30-degree weather turned overpasses and bridges into ice skating rinks. Black ice formed everywhere, especially on Loop 306. On the loop, just south of Knickerbocker, three cars were involved in separate accidents within minutes of each other. One involved a 1990s-era white Chevrolet Camaro. San Angelo Police issued a safety alert to avoid Loop 306, particularly south of Knickerbocker, for black ice. Police were seen directing drivers approaching Knickerbocker on Loop 306 to put their cars into reverse and find an alternate way home. Here are more pictures. 

At approximately 2 a.m., black ice formed within the city, causing a driver of a Nissan sedan to experience a rollover into a San Angelo resident’s front yard, right next to the house.  Here are more pictures.

The cold weather and wet road conditions continue into the morning. The San Angelo Police Department issued a warning this morning that ice is everywhere, especially on bridges throughout Tom Green County and to use extreme caution.