The early snowfall and icy roads Tuesday morning caused at least nine accidents in Schuylkill County, according to local police.
The county was under a winter weather advisory until 1 p.m. Tuesday, during which time 1 to 3 inches of snow fell across the county, according to Craig Evanego, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College.
"Temperatures were right around freezing (Tuesday) morning. I'm sure the roads were slick out there," Evanego said Tuesday night.
Evanego also said the most recent snowfall measurements were 2.4 inches from Tamaqua and 2 inches in Auburn.
The most severe accident occurred about 8 a.m., when a 17-year-old girl lost control of the sport utility vehicle she was driving on Route 54 in Rush Township. The vehicle rolled over and the driver was thrown, suffering unknown injuries, township police said. Her 15-year-old brother, who was a passenger, was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to an area hospital for treatment, police said.
About 8:05 a.m., Marc Galen, 19, of Minersville, lost control of his 2004 Dodge Stratus on Schaeffer Hill Road, Cass Township, and hit a mailbox and small ditch before coming to a stop in the middle of the road. Police said Galen did not report any injuries and the vehicle sustained moderate front-end damage and was towed from the scene.
Scott Haas, 38, of Pottsville, lost control of his 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser and hit a fire hydrant about 8:30 a.m. at Darkwater Road and Route 61, New Castle Township. Police said Haas did not report any injuries and the vehicle sustained moderate front-end damage and was towed.
Joseph Coleman, 60, of Tamaqua, lost control of his vehicle on Mahanoy Avenue, also known as Mintzer's Hill, Rush Township, about 8:10 a.m. and collided head-on into a tractor-trailer owned by D&S Trans LLC, Andreas.
There were at least five other accidents in Rush Township on Tuesday morning.
- Tyler Polashenski, 19, of Hazleton, was driving a sedan south on Lincoln Drive when he lost control of the vehicle, which hit a dirt embankment in front of a residential front yard.
- Tammy McMullen, 44, of Summit Hill, who was driving east on Lafayette Avenue, lost control of her vehicle and went down a small embankment.
- While police were handling McMullen's accident, they were dispatched to Route 54 where Stephen Lukach, 62, of Nesquehoning, who was driving west, lost control of his vehicle, which rolled down an embankment. Lukach suffered no injuries but had to be removed from the vehicle by rescue personnel, police said.
- Sue Bowman, 55, of Quakake, was traveling east on East Main Street and lost control of her sedan, which hit a tree.
- Steven Hayes, 20, of Jim Thorpe, was driving on Route 54 when his car hit the rear of a pickup truck owned by Francis Sherry, Tamaqua.
Police continue to investigate the crashes and some of the drivers could face traffic violations for driving at an unsafe speed.
NWS forecasts for the rest of the week call for mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the upper-30s.
"It looks fairly quiet," Evenego said.
However, drivers should still be careful in the morning as overnight temperatures could create icy roads, Evenego said.
"It's going to be a chilly night, anything still damp may be black ice by the morning," he said.
The state Department of Transportation recommends motorists slow down on ice or snow-covered roads, pay more attention while driving and prepare an emergency kit that includes food, a blanket, non-perishable food, water, first-aid supplies and a snow shovel.
Motorists can check the conditions of state roads by visiting www.511PA.com.