Snowfall brings slick road conditions, collisions. Some areas still dealing with floods.
Winter weather created hazardous conditions for some Lexington commuters Friday morning.
Slick road conditions—created by a coating of snow and below-freezing temperatures—caused multiple injury and non-injury accidents throughout the city. According to a city press release, road crews salted roads and bridges overnight and will be out treating trouble spots throughout the day Friday.
Between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m., Lexington police responded to 41 non-injury collisions and eight injury collisions—one being fatal, Mayor Linda Gorton said at a press conference.
A man died after his Kia Rondo crashed into a guardrail on New Circle Road near Versailles Road at around 3:15 a.m., according to Lexington Police Information Officer, Brenna Angel.
Police originally said that weather conditions were believed to be a factor in the crash, but Angel said upon further review, “it appears the victim had a medical emergency which caused his death.”
The collision was a secondary event that only caused minor physical injury, Angel said.
Slick road conditions contributed to the death of James Curry, 80, Kentucky State Police stated in a press release on Friday. His vehicle lost control on the off ramp of state highway 80 headed toward the city of Martin. The Toyota passenger vehicle struck a guardrail and overturned. Curry was pronounced dead at Our Lady of the Way ARH hospital in Martin.
Black ice was possible Friday night as temperatures begin to drop below freezing again, Gorton said.
Road crews began reporting to treat roads at midnight on Friday and at 2:30 a.m. called in more units as snow began to fall, said Rob Allen, the director of the Division of Streets and Roads. Allen said this amount of snow was good practice for road crews who haven’t had to deal with a major snow event this season.
“I don’t want to call it a practice snow,” Allen said. “But this size of event is really beneficial to us to make sure our equipment is working properly and our folks know what they’re doing.”
Polly Ruddick, the director of the city’s Office of Homeless Intervention and Prevention, said in a press release that many of the city’s shelters are full, but can expand if needed. She said that many shelters need socks, hats, gloves and hand warmers. Those can be dropped off at the Community Action Council on High Street, at the Hope Center or the Salvation Army.
According to the National Weather Service in Louisville, occasional light snow is expected throughout Friday and into Saturday.
WKYT’s Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey reported early Friday morning that central and eastern Kentucky will see snowfalls between 1 to 4 inches.
Eastern Kentucky University canceled classes on Friday, as road crews looked to clear roads around Madison County, WKYT reported.
Before snow covered the Bluegrass, other areas of the state dealt with serious flooding.
A 74-year-old man on his way to his nighttime security guard post at a mining site in Whitley County never made it to his job late Thursday night, and Kentucky State Police say that they haven’t been able to locate him because of high water on his usually traveled route.
Ronnie Bryant left his home on Rapier Hollow in Woodbine at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday night, and didn’t make it to his 10 p.m. job, a state police press release said. Troopers have attempted to locate Bryant on other routes but have been unsuccessful.
Danny Moses, the emergency manager in Whitley County, said volunteers used boats to search for Bryant at two flooded areas, but didn’t see a car in the water.
However, the water was so deep in one spot along the Cumberland River that searchers couldn’t tell whether there was a car submerged there, Moses said. Searchers will have to wait for the water to recede to search again by boat at the spot by the river.
“Hopefully he spent the night somewhere” and will turn up, Moses said.
Moses said the floodwater was still rising at midday Friday in the east end of the county. If it continues it’s possible first responders will have to evacuate some people, he said.
Bryant was last seen wearing a Storm Security shirt and is 5’10”, 240 pounds, has hazel eyes, a mustache and gray hair. He would be driving a silver 2012 Nissan Murano. Family members told police that Bryant is diabetic and has other health issues that require heart medication.
Kentucky State Police ask that anyone with information on Bryant is encouraged to contact state police Post 10 Harlan at 606-573-3131.
Bill Estep contributed reporting.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 10:19 AM.