Winter driving returns and traffic backup is the result
 No comments posted.
By MARK GUNERMAN
mark.gunderman@lee.net
Thursday, November 13, 2008 3:06 PM CST
It was something like trying to follow a pin ball or a complicated Rube Goldberg contraption trying to sort out what happened on the Highway 124 bridge northbound into Chippewa Falls early Tuesday afternoon.
But when everything finally stopped moving — including traffic trying to cross the bridge — there were four damaged cars blocking the way.
Welcome to the first taste of winter driving of the changing season in Chippewa County.
There were also a number of minor accidents and slide-ins around the county on Veteran’s Day, when people felt like rookies learning to drive in slippery conditions again.
The best reconstruction of what happened on Highway 124, according to Chippewa Falls police, goes like this:
The bridge had iced over due to a mix of rain and snow. Kalee J. Reid, 18, driving a 1999 Dodge Stratus, hit the ice and slid into the back of a 2006 Pontiac driven by Bruce P. Potter, 67.
Marilyn J. Lee, 65, driving a 2003 Volkswagen, then struck the back of Reid’s vehicle, causing Reid’s vehicle to spin around 180 degrees. Paul H. Rieper, 67, driving a 1986 Safari, tried to avoid the mess, but hit Reid’s vehicle head-on after it had spun around to face him. That led to Rieper’s vehicle hitting the guard rail.
Well, you get the idea. Two wreckers were called for the Reid and Lee vehicles. The rest, plus backed-up traffic, had to go back the wrong way on Highway 124 northbound to get to Summit Avenue to get the mess untangled.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. Sand and salt were brought to the bridge, but it was hard to stay ahead of the situation and the bridges remained slippery most of the day.
“We are heading into winter weather conditions and people weren’t adjusting to the new conditions,” said Chief of Police Wayne Nehring.
It is unknown how many of the accidents in the county were weather-related. One involved two vehicles, including a jackknifed semi, on Highway 53 north of Tilden. Several other vehicles slid off roadways and into ditches.
|
Archives