Icy roads cause a 10-13 car pile-up in Winston-Salem. How to stay safe

Ice on High Point Road in Winston-Salem was the cause of a pile-up involving 10-13 vehicles Tuesday morning, police said.

Around 10 a.m., Winston-Salem Police Department said it was “responding to numerous vehicles that have slid off the roadway and are disabled due to ice” between Robbins Road and Ridgewood Road, including Friedland Church Road.

“The area is a solid sheet of ice,” police said in a Facebook post.

Officials say emergency vehicles are struggling to reach the disabled vehicles. Drivers are asked to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

“While some main roads and highways may appear clear, dangerous black ice remains widespread. Many secondary roads and neighborhood streets are still icy and unsafe this morning,” official said. “Road crews are working as quickly as possible, but extremely low temperatures are limiting the effectiveness of treatment efforts.” 

Anyone traveling on the roads is asked to follow these tips to ensure safe travel:

• Drive slowly and allow extra time
• Increase following distance; avoid sudden braking or sharp turns
• Accelerate and decelerate gently
• Use extreme caution on bridges, overpasses, and shaded areas, where ice forms first

Across the state, between 6 p.m. on Jan. 24 and 8 a.m. Jan. 27, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said it has responded to 1,213 crashes and 1,477 calls for service statewide.

The SHP said it has not responded to any deadly incidents.

Lexington police confirmed one weather-related death that occurred Saturday night when a woman was hit by a car that slid off the roadway and down an embankment. Her body was found the following morning.

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