Cars slip and slide down I-185, soldiers direct traffic on the highway

Treacherous and icy roads left motorists stranded in the streets, spinning their wheels and struggling to make it up hills throughout Columbus and the Valley Wednesday.

Roads were closed and emergency vehicles responded to crashes across the region.

On I-185, one local woman, 30-year-old Rekkhia Williams, was a passenger in a car when she shot a video of the conditions on the highway.



"It was fine at first, traffic was flowing normally," she said. "But after awhile, getting closer to Victory Drive, we noticed that traffic was coming to a stop and people were tying to get over to the far left lane."

The reason? Cars had begun getting stuck.

"We saw a lot of cars with the tires spinning. One lady was in the middle lane, and every direction she went the tires were just spinning. I saw a lot of cars that were just stopping and getting stuck."

As they drove, they came upon a group of soldiers walking on the highway helping direct traffic and push stalled vehicles out of the roadway.

"They were in regular vehicles. I did see a civilian too. it was nice that everyone was trying to come together," she said.

Even with advance warning from officials, residents were still surprised by just how dangerous the roads were. Drivers coming up a hill on Manchester Expressway were forced to stop in the middle of the street after their cars struggled to reach the top.

Williams said she thinks people were lulled into complacency because other winter events have not turned out to be so severe.

"In the past we were told that snow was coming and everyone got ready for it, and it didn't come," she said. "Everyone thought the same thing. They did not think we were going to get snow. People were not prepared."

So is she planning out braving the roads again?

"Oh no, no no," she laughed. "We are definitely not trying to go out any more today."

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Cars slip and slide down I-185, soldiers direct traffic on the highway."