Drivers stranded on I-20 after West Texas blizzard
The same winter storm that brought snow to North Texas caused much greater problems on Interstate 20 in West Texas.
While only a few inches of snow were covered on New Year’s Eve, heavier snowfall in west and central Texas also brought traffic along Interstate 20 to a halt.
The Texas Department of Transportation said I-20 was never closed between Abilene and Midland. But the traffic stopped for 13 hours as several 18-wheelers stopped until ice and snow could be cleared.
RELATED: Snow falls on New Year’s Eve in areas west of Fort Worth
Tammy Bautista and hundreds of others were stranded on I-20 east of Big Spring, Texas, from about 8:30 p.m. Thursday to 10:30 a.m. Friday.
“My current situation, we’ve been here 13 hours! Stuck!” she said. “I have no food, no water. We are not going to the … we have to go to the toilet.”
Bautista and her autistic 13-year-old son were on their way to Midland to visit family members. She said it was a lack of information that contributed to the frustration.
“And the eastern country is functional. So I do not understand why DPS or TxDOT were out here,” she said.
There were no major accidents to clear up. Instead, a TxDOT spokesman said 18-wheeler was stopped in the Interstate because the icy conditions were too dangerous.
The spokesman said the roads had been pre-treated but it had to be cleared after the storm.
‘You know, one driver who came out and passed a large old crack biscuit to people offered them water. He had limited stock so you know the more needy people are older, I told him to go ahead and help them, ‘Bautista said.
Victoria Zamarripa and her husband were happy to go to a gas station before the traffic stopped.
“When we got to Big Spring, it was a blizzard,” he said.
“We got our son and he is 4 months old. We did not want to stay in the cold car and we only had about half a tank of fuel,” she said.
Larry Martin was driving from Lubbuck to Dallas for the U.S. Post Office when the storm hit.
“You set up the cars in one lane because you know on a two-lane highway that only one lane is drivable,” he said.
He said TxDOT would clear the roads, but that would not help for long.
“They will try to get rid of things, but it will only freeze again as soon as it comes through,” he said.
For some, the ordeal was a New Year’s resolution.
“Make sure you check the weather,” Zamarripa said.
“I will never forget this new year in my life,” Bautista said.
TxDOT does have a website and a hotline for people to check road conditions. Visit drivetexas.org or call 800-452-9292.