LIMA — Slippery roads led to one major accident in the Lima area Thursday as a steady snow fell in the area and temperatures dipped into the low teens throughout the day.
Area law enforcement reported several other minor incidents, mostly drivers sliding off of the road, with no injuries reported.
At 10:15 a.m., the Lima Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated a two-car, head on crash on Interstate 75 near state Route 65. Gregory Chaudoin, 58, of Rochester, Michigan, was driving a silver 2011 Chevrolet Silverado pulling a covered trailer south on I-75 when he lost control on the wet road. Chaudoin’s vehicle traveled off of the left side of the road and struck the median guardrail. The vehicle then continued through the guardrail and into the north-bound lane, where in struck a 2014 black GMC Sierra being driven by Denver Davis, 29, of Wapakoneta.
Both drivers, as well as a passenger in Chaudoin’s vehicle, Bill Stevens, 45, of Swartz Creek, Michigan, suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The Lima Police Department investigated an incident when a driver lost control of his or her vehicle on the slick roadway on 1400 block of Spencerville Road across from Faurot Park and took out two road signs before coming to rest on the south side of the road against the tree line. No injuries were reported, and other details of the incident were not available.
The Wapakoneta Post reported an overturned vehicle on I-75 in the early afternoon at the 99 mile marker near Sidney, but no one was injured.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Office and the Findlay Post of the OSHP reported they responded to several slide-off accidents, but all of the crashes were minor and no injuries were reported.
Temperatures remaining in the low teens throughout most of the daylight hours Thursday and the light-but-steady snow were the contributing factors to the hazardous roadways. Temperatures were expected to remain cold, reaching a low of nine degrees early this morning with a high of 15. All agencies asked that people remain careful when driving. Drive-safely.net recommended the following precautions while roads remain hazardous:
• If roadway icing is occurring, you will see very little if any water spray coming from the tires of your vehicle or other vehicles around you, even when the roadway appears to be wet. This is extremely dangerous as you are almost certainly driving on ice.
• If freezing conditions exist, ice will begin forming on the leading edge of your side mirrors. Open your window and run your finger over the front surface of your drivers side mirror. If ice is forming on the mirror, that means it’s cold enough for water to freeze on the roadway.
• Remain calm and don’t hit the brakes and don’t make any sudden movements with the steering wheel, even if you feel yourself sliding. Slowly take your foot off the accelerator. Slow down as much as you can without putting yourself in danger of being rear-ended.
• Beware of ice on bridges and overpasses.
• If you get stuck, try to “rock” the car back and forth. Sometimes, rocking the vehicle won’t work. In that case, you may need to get a shovel and dig yourself a path. Use sand or kitty litter to help the tires grip. Another trick is using windshield wiper fluid to melt the snow around the vehicle’s tires.
When starting from a stop, use the most pressure on the gas possible until up until the wheels break free. Once the wheels start to break loose, you should back off the gas a bit.
• Keep a nine-second following distance behind other vehicles.
• Give snowplows plenty of room.
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