Glaze of ice keeps emergency crews hustling; more ice expected

Tony Huffman and Bill Grimes

When freezing rain started spitting on Tuesday’s early afternoon, all eyes and ice settled on the ground. The situation put area schools and after-school activities on ice Tuesday afternoon and evening.

This morning, the situation was just as treacherous as a glaze of ice covered roadways and sidewalks. Area schools are closed and emergency crews were out again this morning responding to accidents caused by the slippery conditions.

Emergency crews have been busy since Tuesday afternoon, as have road crews. At 1:13 p.m. a rollover near Ste. Marie in Jasper County was the first of a rash of accidents that created havoc along several roads and closed Interstate 57 for a period of time.

Traveling north on Ste. Marie Road at 1:13 p.m. Tuesday about three and a half miles north of the Richland County line, Danielle M. Dimarzio, 21, of Robinson lost control of the Olds Cutlass Supreme she was driving, causing it to roll into the east ditch. She was taken to Richland Memorial hospital in Olney. Her condition is unknown.

At 1:43 p.m., a southbound vehicle driven by Alana Ross,19, of Carbondale went out of control and into the median of Interstate 57 and rolled, five miles south of Effingham. Ross, along with passenger Jeremy Baker of Calumet City, were ejected from the vehicle into the median of the interstate. Ross’s vehicle came to rest in oncoming traffic of the northbound lane of I-57. Ross was taken to St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham with incapacitating injuries and Baker was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Baker is listed in critical condition. Ross’ condition is unknown.

The accident shut the interstate down for approximately an hour and a half. Neither Ross nor Baker were wearing seat belts.

With the precipitation described as a “freezing drizzle” leaving “a light glaze” by Fred Glass, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, the weather proved to be enough to send transportation into a tail spin.

“If you scraped the ice off the ground and put it up to a ruler, the ice wouldn’t have reached a sixteenth of an inch,” said Glass. “It doesn’t take much with these temperatures, if the road isn’t treated. It is going to cause the road to ice up with these temperatures that have hovered in the teens.”

Firefighters responding to accident calls in rural parts of the county reported treacherous driving conditions on both primary and secondary roads.

Several firefighters used the phrase “sheet of ice” to describe roads affected by Tuesday’s storm.

“Everything south of the south tri-level (on Interstate 57) was nothing but a sheet of ice,” said Chief Matt Kulesza of Watson Fire Protection District. “There were very treacherous driving conditions.”

Kulesza said secondary roads in the Watson-Mason area were even worse.

“At least they were trying to salt the interstate as the storm was going on,” he said. “On the secondary roads, they couldn’t do anything until it stopped.”

The story was the same further west, said Chief Jon Becker of Altamont Fire Protection District.

“The main roads, such as (U.S.) Route 40, are stable, but the county roads are an absolute sheet of ice,” Becker said this morning. “You can only maintain a speed of about 20 miles an hour on these rural roads.”

To the northeast of Effingham, there was more of the same. Chief Chris Overbeck of the Montrose Fire Protection District said conditions were “very slick” in his area, noting eight cars went off Interstate 70 at one spot to the northeast.

“The police were just sitting there watching them go off,” Overbeck said.

Illinois State Police reported this morning none of the Cumberland County accidents yielded any injuries.

Effingham County Sheriff’s Department reported a “handful” of non-injury accidents occurred around the area, but specific information was unavailable at presstime. There were two rollovers reported early this morning, but details were unavailable.

According to Glass, more “wild weather” is around the corner. Flurries are expected until noon tomorrow, with a similar “glazing of the roads” from freezing rain in the afternoon. A warm front is expected during the middle of the afternoon precipitation, changing the freezing rain to just rain.

“Believe it or not, we could have thunderstorms tomorrow night,” said Glass.

Glass expects the worst icy conditions Thursday to miss Effingham, going to the north around Champaign.

Tony Huffman can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 135 or tony.huffman@effinghamdailynews.com.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.

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