COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winter storms left central Ohio overnight after dumping as much as four inches of snow on the region, but the weather will continue to have an impact on holiday travelers.
Port Columbus International Airport officials say people flying to East Coast destinations could be grounded or delayed. Travelers are reminded to call their airline before heading out to the airport.
Columbus police are blaming icy roads for a deadly crash on the city’s West Side early Tuesday morning
Investigators say Tyler Jenkins, 36, of Grove City, was a passenger in a Mercury Grand Marquis being driven southbound on Wilson Road by Brandon Kinser when it hit a patch of ice north of Fremont Street.
The car spun into the northbound lanes and into the path of a Ford F-150 pickup with Allen Cline behind the wheel. Police say Cline’s truck hit the passenger side of Kinser’s car.
Jenkins was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Kinser, 36, was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Cline, 49, was treated at scene for minor injuries.
The holiday ushers in a dangerous stretch of time on Ohio’s roadways, due a higher number of accidents involving impaired drivers. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of people killed in accidents involving impaired drivers increases substantially from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.
In Ohio last year 470 people were killed in 431 alcohol-related crashes, with 22 of those crashes and 26 of the deaths coming between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Eve, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol statistics.
Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Anne Ralston says law enforcement agencies will be increasing road patrols during the holiday season, looking for impaired drivers, as well as seat belt violators and those speeding.
Designate a non-drinking driver, take public transportation or a cab, or maybe stay overnight, Ralston said.
Tie One On for Safety Campaign, sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Ohio Department of Public Safety, is under way. This is the 27th year for the holiday ribbon campaign, which calls for drivers to display a red ribbon on their car to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.
The Ohio Department of Transportation says some construction work will be suspended over the Thanksgiving holiday, but drivers may still come across many work zone restrictions.
Transportation officials say they opened a third lane in the area to ease southbound congestion for drivers from Cleveland to Columbus in a construction zone where crews are widening I-71 in parts of Delaware and Morrow counties.
Motorists can expect delays near a bridge project in northeast Ohio. Drivers traveling along I-90 near Avon will be restricted to two narrowed lanes of traffic in each direction and are encouraged to find alternate routes.
The transportation department also is urging motorists to drive sober and avoid distractions during one of the busiest holiday travel periods of the year.