COLUMBIA — Icy conditions left some drivers stranded for hours in their cars along parts of Interstate 70 Friday night.
Semitrucks spun out and became stuck, backing up traffic for hours in Warren and Montgomery counties, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Dallas Thompson. The Highway Patrol worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation and private tow truck companies to clear the road, Thompson said.
This left drivers like Penny Parisoff sitting in their cars for hours. Parisoff and her family were headed east on I-70 when they got stuck in traffic outside Warrenton. She planned to drop off her son at his girlfriend’s house before going to St. Louis.
“We would re-route on icy roads,” Parisoff said. “The Waze app would take us on these farm country roads that I thought I was going to slide off.”
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Traffic was at a standstill on Interstate 70 Friday, Feb. 16, outside Warrenton, Mo.
Traffic stood still on Interstate 70 Friday. Feb. 16, due to icy conditions. Laurie Henry said in a Facebook comment that the drive from Columbia, Mo., to Taylorville, Il., took two hours longer than normal.
Andrew Dohnut wrote in a Facebook comment that he made it through St. Louis safely after icy conditions on Interstate 70 halted traffic on Friday, Feb. 16.
Traffic was at a standstill on Interstate 70 Friday, Feb. 16, outside Warrenton, Mo.
Traffic stood still on Interstate 70 Friday. Feb. 16, due to icy conditions. Laurie Henry said in a Facebook comment that the drive from Columbia, Mo., to Taylorville, Il., took two hours longer than normal.
Andrew Dohnut wrote in a Facebook comment that he made it through St. Louis safely after icy conditions on Interstate 70 halted traffic on Friday, Feb. 16.
Terri Noblin was headed east on I-70 when her navigation system also told her to get off the interstate. She was about 20 miles outside Warrenton when traffic came to a stop at 3 p.m. Noblin said she was stuck in traffic for more than 12 hours.
“We kept looking at the phone trying to find out what was going on,” Noblin said.
Noblin lost cell service, so she tried talking to other drivers. No one knew what happened. Noblin eventually got her reception back and called MoDOT. A MoDOT employee told Noblin the interstate was shut down because of ice and would re-open once it was clear.
“When they finally let us go, it was still completely ice-covered,” Noblin said. “So I don’t know what they removed.”
Parisoff got stuck on a service road outside Warrenton with other drivers trying to avoid the traffic. She said she drove just a 10th of a mile in two hours. Eventually, she made it to a gas station with a Denny’s.
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“If anything, I’ll just sit at this place all night if I have to until the roads clear,” Parisoff said. “At least we have food and bathrooms and stuff.”
Traffic was so bad that Parisoff couldn’t leave the parking lot for hours. Other drivers prepared to stay the night and bought pillows.
Parisoff said she tried to sleep in her car, but it was too cold. Noblin said drivers turned their cars on and off to keep warm.
Parisoff’s husband eventually made it to Warrenton in his car by taking a back road through Hermann and Washington, where he dropped off Parisoff’s son with his girlfriend’s family.
Parisoff eventually turned around on the service road and made it back to I-70. As she drove past the service road on the interstate, she saw it had been shut down. Eventually, Parisoff said she made it to her St. Louis-area hotel at 5 a.m.
“The roads there were wet, and icy — I mean, it was treacherous on I-70,” Parisoff said. “When we finally got to I-70, we were driving, and semis were driving 10 miles an hour,” Parisoff said.
Noblin and Parisoff said they would have liked more information from law enforcement and MoDOT. KOMU 8 News has reached out to MoDOT for comment.
“I’m glad I turned around, but lesson learned is, gosh, you’ve got to get out there and communicate on social media,” Parisoff said.