At least four people are dead after a blustery wintry blast swept across Oklahoma.
The combination of blinding snow and freezing rain has caused hundreds of accidents in both Texas and Oklahoma. Schools and government buildings have been shut down amid a winter storm warning is in effect through Friday.
The four victims were all killed in weather-related crashes. Slick roads led to a 21-car pileup in Tulsa on Wednesday that sent at least two people to the hospital. In Wichita Falls, Tex., icy roads caused vehicles to flip over, reported CBS News.
Karen Price of Eufaula, Okla., was killed Wednesday when her pickup truck skidded into the path of a tractor-trailer, reported NewsOK. Texas residents, Daniel Ellison and Erica Womack, died early Thursday when their vehicle slid on an icy patch and struck a barrier. A tractor-trailer then rammed the car. And 76-year-old Ramos Francis of Chickasha, Okla., died Thursday morning after his vehicle hit a tree after spinning out of control, reported The Associated Press.
About six inches of snow fell in the northern town of Shamrock, Tex., making several roads too risky to travel. One motorist pulled a vehicle out of a ditch and nearly caused another accident. Officials are urging people to stay home.
Oklahoma Department of Transportation engineering manager Tracy Terrill asserted his crews began spreading salt on the state’s highways and byways on New Year’s Day in preparation for the impending storm.
The state has 220,000 tons of salt mix ready to be deployed, but the storm is expected to steer to the Northeast later this week.
