Just days after the region was blasted by last weekend’s storm, lingering ice and a fresh round of wintry weather combined to turn roadways across the Commonwealth into a mess of slick pavement and stalled traffic.
As of 11 a.m. on Sunday, February 1, Virginia State Police said troopers had responded to 289 crashes statewide since the storm began Friday morning, with 29 involving injuries and three turning deadly, according to police.
Not all of the crashes were storm-related, VSP noted, but the timing was hard to ignore as freezing temperatures locked in snow and ice that never really had a chance to melt.
Police confirmed that three fatal crashes occurred during the storm period in Greensville County, Dinwiddie County, and Fauquier County.
Two of those deaths — in Greensville and Fauquier — remain under investigation, while the Dinwiddie fatal crash was not believed to be weather-related.
Northern Virginia wasn’t spared.
VSP’s Division 7, which covers the region, logged 45 crashes, including 10 with injuries, as drivers navigated snow-covered roads and refrozen slush still lingering from the previous weekend’s storm.
Elsewhere across Virginia, the numbers piled up:
- Hampton Roads reported 52 crashes, including five injuries and one fatal;
- Western Virginia saw 66 crashes;
- Southwest Virginia logged 51 crashes;
- Central and Western Virginia recorded 32 crashes;
- Northwest Virginia reported 18 crashes, including four with injuries;
- Central Virginia and Richmond saw 25 crashes.
State police urged drivers to stay off the roads if possible, warning that storm conditions could delay emergency response times for stranded motorists.
Drivers who must head out are being reminded to clear all snow and ice from their vehicles, slow down, and give VDOT plows and emergency crews room to work as crews continue clearing primary, secondary, and neighborhood roads.
With temperatures hovering near freezing and winter weather hitting for a second straight weekend, officials say the impact may not be over yet.
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