Staff and Wire Reports
Indiana State Police troopers scrambled Saturday to keep up with vehicles sliding off roads made dangerously slippery by a winter storm that blanketed much of the state with snow and ice Friday evening.
WFIE-TV reported Sgt. Todd Ringle of the state police said a total of more than 300 vehicles sliding off roadways had been reported to the agency. In a tweet he sent out early Saturday, Ringle said that overnight troopers responded to calls of cars sliding off the roadway, property damage accidents and two crashes in which people were injured.
Locally, Columbus Police and Bartholomew County sheriff’s deputies also responded to slide-offs due to hazardous road conditions. Icy conditions also lead to cancellation or postponement of several local events and most high school sports events.
In Indianapolis, the storm prompted organizers to postpone Saturday’s planned removal of the lights stretching nearly to the top of the 284-foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
It was the second delay in taking down the light strands. Volunteers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had planned to do the work Jan. 6, but that weekend’s extreme cold prompted a cancellation.
The union said the crews are expected to gather at Monument Circle on Jan. 20 to pack up the lights, nearly two months after the display was turned on the day after Thanksgiving.
The below-freezing temperatures were expected to continue into the next few days. More snow was forecast for tonight and Monday morning, with accumulation of 1 to 3 inches expected, according to AccuWeather.
