On Monday, a winter storm dumped as much as 14 inches of snow in some areas of Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., region leaving hundreds, if not thousands, of drivers completely at a standstill for nearly the last 24 hours on the I-95 highway. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and NBC reporter Josh Lederman were stuck overnight and recounted their experience via Twitter and T.V. interviews from their car.
“I started my normal 2 hour drive to DC at 1pm yesterday. 19 hours later, I’m still not near the Capitol,” Kaine tweeted Tuesday morning.
I started my normal 2 hour drive to DC at 1pm yesterday. 19 hours later, I’m still not near the Capitol. My office is in touch with @VaDOT to see how we can help other Virginians in this situation. Please stay safe everyone. pic.twitter.com/Sz1b1hZJZ5
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 4, 2022
Lederman told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that his ordeal was a pretty “insane” and “dystopian” experience Tuesday morning.
“By 7:30 [PM], we were just at a standstill…meaning the thousands — I can see thousands of cars from where I am on the highway on I-95 — have been in their cars overnight without out food, without water, it’s been 26 degrees outside and nobody knows how long we’re going to be here or how we’re going to get out,” Lederman told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski:
.@JoshNBCNews joins us from his car on I-95, where he has been stuck overnight with his dog as a result of the winter weather. pic.twitter.com/s2nN4uaqp6
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) January 4, 2022
Lederman also told NBC’s “The Today Show” that many motorists were forced to shut off their cars to conserve gas:
“We started to see a lot of drivers turning their cars off to conserve gas, people running out of food and water, kids and pets holed up for so many hours, people letting their pets out of the car to try to walk them on the street. And in the meantime, no signs of any emergency vehicles that we could see,” Lederman said. “You really start to think if there was a medical emergency, someone that was out of gas and out of heat — you know it’s 26 degrees and there’s no way that anybody can get to you in this situation.”
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) tweeted Tuesday morning that emergency crews had been working on the situation overnight and that an “emergency message is going to all stranded drivers connecting them to support, and the state is working with localities to open warming shelters as needed.”
He also urged drivers to stay off the road today. “While sunlight is expected to help @VaDOT clear the road, all Virginians should continue to avoid 1-95″:
An emergency message is going to all stranded drivers connecting them to support, and the state is working with localities to open warming shelters as needed.
While sunlight is expected to help @VaDOT clear the road, all Virginians should continue to avoid 1-95.
— Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) January 4, 2022
This morning, crews were able to make some headway as motorists tweeted that they had begun moving again, albeit very slowly:
8:41am – @VaDOTFRED FINALLY!
After over 11 hours of not moving an inch, I-95 NB is crawling forward. Any movement is exciting at this point. pic.twitter.com/bHwaIgzHkS— Susan Phalen (@SAPOTUS) January 4, 2022