Throughout a 50-mile stretch of I-95 in Virginia, no vehicles moved.
Hundreds of drivers were trapped for more than 24 hours after a traffic accident and amid the first winter storm of the year that brought more than a foot of snow and freezing temperatures.
Three people were killed in the crash that caused the traffic jam Monday afternoon, but
no other deaths or major medical emergencies were reported while traffic was stopped,
according to authorities.
The Virginia Department of Transportation reported that as of Tuesday night there were about 20 vehicles stopped on the affected stretch of highway.
Although other cars that had already made it out were still being redirected to other routes.
Virginia Department of Transportation trucks clear snow from the I-95 freeway Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, after the traffic jam that left hundreds of drivers stranded since Monday night.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
"Every man for himself"
For Jennifer Travis, her husband and their 12-year-old daughter, the situation was turning desperate this Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. local time, after more than 18 hours of being stuck in traffic in the Chevy Tahoe truck they had rented to travel to Florida.
They had only a bottle of water left and nothing to eat, they told The Associated Press news agency
.
His last meal had been at a Denny's restaurant on Monday at 7:00 pm.
[Follow these recommendations to prevent road accidents during the winter season]
"It is becoming more difficult to bear, because the situation has not improved," Travis told the outlet in a choked voice.
"They tell us that help is on the way.
But it does not arrive. No one directs the traffic
. No one is at the traffic light saying 'Ok, you guys come in, come in, come in.'
"Why weren't the roads being salted Governor Northam? I knew there was a blizzard on the way. You know historically Virginia has not fared well with the storms. He has 15 days left in office and then he will leave. But he still will. he must answer to his constituents, "added Travis.
For Meera Rao and her husband, Raghavendra,
the most incredible thing about the jam had been the lack of presence of the authorities
, something that many complained about on social networks.
"No police arrived in the 16 hours that we were stuck. Nobody came. It was just shocking. We live in the most advanced country in the world and, nobody even knew how to free a lane so that we could all escape from that disaster?" Rao complained.
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said his office was working to respond to the closure of the highway that runs from Maine to Miami and connects the north and south of the country.
"State and local emergency personnel continue to clear downed trees, assist broken down vehicles and redirect drivers," he tweeted.
"An emergency message has been sent to all stranded drivers so they can receive support, and the state is working with local authorities to open shelters as needed," he added, while urging drivers to avoid the interstate.
I-95 was closed from Exit 104 to Exit 152, our sister network NBC News reported.
Stuck in traffic for 27 hours
Hundreds of vehicles stuck on I-95 waited hours Tuesday for help to arrive.
Even after they managed to escape from the highway, many were detained for hours on the side roads.
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Among them was Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, who tweeted this Tuesday afternoon that he had finally made it to the capital, Washington, DC, after spending more than a day in stopped traffic.
"Ok, after more than 27 hours on the highway from Richmond to DC, I am very happy to be back on Capitol Hill, working on voting rights legislation this afternoon," he wrote.
"A hope of being able to leave"
The problems began Monday morning when a truck collided with two other cars on I-95, triggering a rapid chain reaction when other vehicles lost control, state police reported.
Three people died in that accident in Maryland.
Lanes in both directions were blocked on a 40-mile (64-kilometer) stretch of the interstate, the main north-south highway along the east coast.
As the hours passed and night fell, motorists posted messages on social media about the lack of fuel, food and water.
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"The most difficult thing was seeing my wife's nerves. She was scared because she had never experienced something like this
," Darwin Jarquín, who spent 16 hours with his family trapped on the road, told Noticias Telemundo.
Although many of the trapped drivers had already made it home Tuesday night, some were still stopped in slow traffic.
"They are already moving forward. So, it is like a hope of already being able to leave," said Ángel Candela in an interview with Noticias Telemundo, one of the people who was still trapped on the highway.
