One truck driver was killed and nearly 100 other drivers were stranded in Nebraska on Friday after serious winter weather made the roads nearly impassible.
The blizzard occurred on Friday, April 13th and stranded drivers along Interstate 80 near Sidney, Nebraska.
According to a Nebraska State Patrol Press Release, 61-year-old truck driver Rollo Ward was traveling along I-80 in the blizzard conditions when “the semi he was driving eastbound lost control, entered the median, and struck a semi that had previously become stranded.” Ward was killed in the crash, but no other injuries were reported.
I80 near Sidney, NE pix from TT Amandeep..interstate is shut down for most of the state pic.twitter.com/vzJHJJcMVE
— Truck Drivers U.S.A (@TruckDriversUSA) April 14, 2018
100s of other motorists were left spun out and stranded on I-80 as well and authorities were forced to send several school buses accompanied by snow plows and escort patrol cars to rescue the stranded drivers. The rescued people were then taken to a local church or a hotel of their choice.
In addition to the large-scale rescue, Nebraska State Patrol Troopers responded to more than 80 additional motorist assist calls during the brutal winter storm.
No hitchhiking…. ps big 4×4 didn’t do work any better than little 4x4s. pic.twitter.com/joKp8rvK6m
— NSP Troop C (@NSP_TroopC) April 14, 2018
On top of the stranded four-wheelers, Sidney City Manager Ed Sadler says that more than 1,000 semi trucks were forced to stay in Sidney on Friday night, creating a surplus of trucks that packed the truck stops and parking lots.
“We just started stacking them up,” said Sadler.
“That’s just what happens in Sidney when the interstate shuts down.”
As of noon on Monday, April 16th, the weather and driving conditions in the area have improved.
