by Gina Greco
Two motor vehicle accidents, that occurred slightly south of the village of Eagle Bay on Route 28, were the result of sudden freezing rain on Monday morning, November 30.
Eagle Bay, Inlet and Big Moose fire departments responded to the scene.
Town of Webb Police Chief Ron Johnston said the temperature made a quick, drastic drop in his short commute from Old Forge to Eagle Bay.
“When I left [Old Forge], the temperature showed 37 degrees on the car thermometer, and when I got to Eagle Bay it was 29 degrees. From Lawrence Point, it went from rain to a sheet of ice. It turned that quick,” he said.
Johnston said there were two separate accidents.
The first accident involved a Jeep that had overturned on the roadway, he said.
A National Grid vehicle stopped at the scene to assist with traffic control, according to Johnston.
Johnston said that another vehicle was unable to stop and avoid a collision; the car swerved into a ditch.
“Officially it was an unrelated accident,” Johnston said.
“There was a female passenger in the overturned Jeep. She was transported by ambulance to the hospital for undetermined injuries,” he said.
Route 28 was shut down for about 45 minutes and the traffic was rerouted to South Shore Road, he said.
During freezing rain, accidents, injuries and fatalities are significantly higher than any other type of road ice condition, including snow and sleet. This is due to the invisibility of the “black ice.”
“It’s important to be alert to the temperatures. And the road temperature can vary from what weather conditions would indicate,” Johnston said.